


Simple/Clean: An Original Character's Story

by PoorSapAdvocate



Series: Original Character's Series (First Configuration) [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M, Final Fantasy? In MY Kingdom Hearts? It's more likely than you think, I love my Kingdom Hearts but it can be stupid sometimes, LET ME SHOW OFF ALL MY BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, M/M, Original Character(s), Parody, Riku comes off as darker and edgier but he is still a good egg at heart, Sora is a good egg, mentions of Kingdom Hearts 3D, parody rewrite of Kingdom Hearts 1, written before Kingdom Hearts 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-02-29 17:28:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 40,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18782824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoorSapAdvocate/pseuds/PoorSapAdvocate
Summary: There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One Sky, one Destiny. And when that destiny is threatened, the universe calls on one hero to save the day. Or, more like, five. When the Earth is consumed into Darkness, Danielle Scott and her friends are given the Keys between light and darkness. If they are going to save the worlds and find her brother, they are going to have to go on a universe-wide road trip to find the Door to Light. If only they had a better weapon than keys... {A repost}





	1. Pale Blue Dot

 

I've been having some strange dreams lately…

Like, is any of this for real?

Or not?

 

_Simple / Clean_

_An Original Character's Story_

_By the Poor Sap Advocate_

 

 

_“Embrace your dreams, and whatever happens, protect your honor...”—Zack Fair, Crisis Core: Before Final Fantasy VII_

* * *

_Chapter 1: Pale Blue Dot_

 

Dani knew she was dreaming.

She just wasn't sure what she was dreaming about.

"So much to do...so little time…

Take your time. Don't be afraid."

The voice speaking to her was neither male nor female, neither loud nor soft, and seemed to be nowhere and everywhere at once.

Dani tapped the floor below her with her foot, testing for sturdiness. When she felt solidness, she stepped forward. Light erupted from her feet, strong enough that she needed to cover her eyes. The sounds of rustling wings was what caused her to uncover, and she looked up just quick enough to watch a flock of doves fly past. Her gaze fell back on the ground below her.

She was standing on a circular platform made of an intricate stained glass pattern. Most of the tiles were dyed a bright yellow, and had the etchings of designs and people in them that Dani couldn't quite make out with the light. What she could see was the figure of a boy, probably no older than her, colored in bright yellows, reds and browns.

"Now, step forward. Can you do it?"

Dani furrowed her eyes together in concentration, and took one step forward. Her other foot trailed behind her.

"Alright. Now you've got it." The voice praised.

Dani felt herself smile. This dream was going to be easy!

"The door is still shut.

"Power sleeps within you.

If you give it form,

It will give you strength.

Choose well."

* * *

"The power of the warrior.

Invincible courage.

A sword of terrible destruction.

Is this the path you seek?"

"Yeah, I feel like the sword is going to be a better weapon for me than the shield and the stick with the mouse head." Hanna said.

Hanna also knew she was dreaming, but she wasn't sure what she had eaten that night that would provoke such a nightmare. It was beyond usual dreams of big scary monsters and showing up to school naked; this dream has a physical feeling of uneasiness attached to it.

"Then your path is set.

The warrior of the Day.

You've gained the strength to fight.

Use this strength to protect yourself and your friends."

The stained-glass platform shattered beneath her, and Hanna felt herself fall.

* * *

"The path of the guardian.

Kindness to aid friends.

A shield to repel all.

Guardian of the Morning."

Katie knew that she wasn't dreaming. There was a difference between lucid dreaming and hallucinations. And this...was somewhere in between.

She didn't know what to think.

"Behind you!"

Reflexively, Katie swung the shield in her hand like a bat. It collided with something, but she wasn't sure exactly what. Shadows lurked and hid into the platform, and only once they were out of sight did Katie take a chance to look at the platform in front of her. Most of the tiles were dyed a light blue, and had the etchings of designs and people in them that Katie couldn't quite make out with the light. What she could see was the figure of a boy, probably no older than her, colored in white and black. There was some figure behind him, colored only in blacks, and Katie couldn't tell if that was a deliberate design choice or not.

"There will be times you have to fight.

Keep your light burning strong."

"I'm sorry, when?" Katie asked. "And what will I be fighting? I feel like these are important things to know, Mr. Mysterious Voice."

She got no answer. Instead, a set of stained-glass stairs lit up beside her, revealing the next path. Katie decided there was no other way to proceed.

* * *

"The Power of the Mystic.

Inner Strength.

A staff of wonder and ruin.

Mage of the Afternoon."

It was a long staircase, and it took Nadine some time to make her way to the next platform. However, she didn't feel any fatigue once she did. She took a chance to look at the station under her. Most of the tiles were dyed a bright pink, nearly magenta, and had the etchings of designs and people in them that looked like they were pixels rather than glass. What she could see was the figure of a boy, probably no older than her, as tall as she and colored in yellows and reds, descending into random snippets of binary.

"The close you get to the light,

the greater your shadow becomes."

Nadine certainly didn't try to look down at the ground beneath her. Why would you think that?

"But do not be afraid.

For you have been blessed with the power of Light.

Use it well."

She was also trying very hard to ignore the mysterious voice, but it seemed like listening to it was the only way to progress through. Nadine sighed as another staircase illuminated. She didn't feel fatigue in this lucid state, but she could feel boredom.

Flashes of light and color crossed her vision as she ascended the staircase. She didn't pay it much mind, at least until she reached the top. The platform was a pale green, depicting figures and people she could make out but didn't recognize. There was a boy probably no older than her colored in pale greens and greys.

There were also other people on the platform.

"Well," Dani said. "This is awkward."

"Do not be afraid.

Before Nadine could respond, the platform shook beneath her. She heard the shattering noise of glass, and looked down quick enough to see the platform crumble. She reached out for something, to no avail, and fell.

You hold the mightiest weapon of all."

* * *

Danielle Scott fell out of bed.

It took her a few minutes to shake off the feeling of panic that came after waking up from a nightmare. Once she could think clearly, she untangled herself from the mess of blankets and turned off her alarm. It took her another minute to think about what just happened.

She had been dreaming, but...about what?

The power of the warrior.

Invincible courage.

A sword of terrible destruction.

The warrior of the day

* * *

Dmitri Scott did not have any nightmares that night. In fact, he did not find out that his sisters were having nightmares that night until much later. He did not sleep that night at all. His night was filled with him watching the sky, waiting for something to change. It just so happened that that night something was changing.

Dim was not a bad student, nor was he a particularly lazy one. It was more the fact that he already knew that school was not the most important thing in his life, and he could easily circumnavigate it if something else provoked his attention. So if he found that dealing with a certain situation was more important that going to one of his classes, he would skip without a second thought.

Nobody looked at him twice as he sneaked in with the class occupying one of the computer labs. Nobody really cared that he obviously wasn't doing the work assigned, either. Dim figured that they cared just as little as he did about whatever class this was. Once that paranoia had faded away, he allowed himself to focus on his work.

It only took him a few minutes of searching to confirm his suspicions: The stars were going out.

There was no scientific consensus on it, which was a bit more concerning than the actual stars going out. Dim turned to conspiracy sites and folklore databases. And that made him worry all the more.

"Hey! That isn't  _Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing_!"

Dim shut down the computer and ran out as fast as he could. No more school today. Something big was going to happen, and he should get ready as best he could.

* * *

"So I had this dream last night,"

"Right."

"And you were in it,"

"Right."

"And you were in it, and you—"

"Which one was I, the Scarecrow?"

It was a rare occasion that Dani, Hanna, Katie and Nadine got to walk home together. The school year was near its end, and they needed all the help they could get with final exams. Usually, it was a time Dani relished. But right now, she needed all the help she could get.

"No, it wasn't like that. It was really…lucid?" Dani said. "And kind of chiaroscuro-y. Or Caravaggio-y. But I think it was something important."

"Why do you say that?" Hanna asked.

"It had…it felt like a premonition, you know? That something big's gonna happen."

"Well, next Tuesday's they're serving chicken fingers." Katie said.

"Something bigger than that!" Dani huffed.

She was so lost in her own mind that she forgot to keep walking. The others noticed after a few feet and turned back to her.

"I mean, we can't just accept that this is all there is, right? If anyone were to send us the call to adventure, that would have been it! What if we're destined to go on a great adventure?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, there is a vast cosmos around us so infinite that it makes your tiny human thoughts insignificant." Nadine said.

"Thanks." Dani sighed.

Dani would have said more, but in that moment, the ground shook under them. She reached out for something, to no avail, and fell.

"Run for your lives!" She could hear Dim shout. "The forces of Darkness are attacking!"

Before she could try and find her brother, the ground stopped shaking and she caught something out of the corner of her eye. Her shadow shifted under her feet, rising in height and growing into a form that no longer resembled her. It rose above the pavement, and towered over her in a very real, very physical form.

The door has been opened.

"Dani!"

It took Dani a minute to gather her bearings. She found herself pushed on the ground, with Dim in front of her.

"Get out of here! I'll buy you time!" He said.

"Fu—Likely story!" Dani said. "You're 5''9 and you weight nothing!"

"Oh, and you think either of us are going to be able to take that thing on in a fistfight?" Dim snapped back. "Get out of here!"

"We're not going to just leave you here!" Hanna said.

Do not forget.

The monster turned its attention to them.

"Dani..." Nadine said, her voice full of fear.

"I'm not leaving without you!" Dani insisted.

The monster staggered as it turned around, ground shattering in its wake. The skies turned dark. The whole world was ending. It reached a hand towards Dani. Dim held a hand out to block her from getting in his way. Thick, shadowy hands that did not appear to be any kind of physical wrapped around him.

"DIM!"

There was a flash of light, then darkness.

You have been blessed with the power of Light.

You hold the mightiest weapon of all.

Use it well."


	2. A Small World After All

Chapter 2: A Small World After All

_Donald,_

_Sorry to rush off without saying goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'. Not sure why, but the stars have been blinking out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into that._

_As the King, I have a favor to ask of you and Goofy. There's someone out there with a Key—the key to our survival. I need you and Goofy to find him and stick with him! Got it? Without that key, we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

_PS: Would you apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal!_

* * *

"Please be careful...both of you."

"Please don't worry, your Majesty!"

"Besides, I'll be tagging along!"

"GET OFF MY HEAD! ...We'll be fine."

"Count on it!"

"Alright. Please bring the King back safe and sound!"

* * *

"What's up? Your face is looking longer than usual."

"...Another star went out. They're getting faster now."

"Do you think that one has the Key?"

"Who knows? Keep an eye out for any strangers. That was a  _very_  big star."

* * *

When Dani woke up, she quickly realized that she had been asleep in an alleyway. She scrambled back up to her feet, trying to make sure that she wasn't hurt and all of her possession remained on her person. When she realized that was the case, she started to think on why she fell asleep in an alleyway in the first place.

Then she realized she wasn't in her hometown.

She wasn't anywhere she recognized. It was a very old town, made of straw roofs, brick houses, and cobblestone walkways. It looked more like what she would see in a fairytale. Dani could barely walk two steps without encountering a lamp of some kind, either small lamps attached to buildings or tall Victorian-style gas lamps in the city square. It helped illuminate the town in the dark of night.

But the last she remembered it was afternoon.

Last she remembered. What was the last she remembered? She was going home with Katie and Nadine, and...was there a monster, or did she just make that up? Was there a sword, or did she make that up too? Was she dreaming now?

Something wet and gross hit her hand, and she recoiled back. When she saw that it was only a dog, she sighed in relief.

"Hey there cutie," Dani cooed, because not matter what your current situation is, it is easy to get distracted by dogs. "You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?"

He barked, and let out a bit of a soft whine. He must be lost too.

Dani bent down to look at his nametag. "Pluto, huh? Well, don't worry bud. I'll get you home."

She needed a plan, and fast. She needed to find Hanna. Hanna was better at plans, anyway.

* * *

Hanna was better at plans than Dani was. That wasn't saying much.

She slammed the door behind her and leaned against it as she collected her breath. It wasn't that she had even run away that much, so much as it was she felt a panic attack coming.

_What were those things?_

She had managed to collect her breath enough to think when she realized she had just run into a building that someone else was probably using.

"Hey kiddo, you don't look like a customer. And if you're not a customer, SCRAM!"

Hanna glanced up. At the counter was a man, looking rough, grizzled, and exactly the type she shouldn't mess with. Between breaths, she tried to explain what was going on. Tried being the key word.

He seemed to get her point, anyway.

"Them again, huh?" He asked. It did not sound like he actually wanted it answered. The man folded his comic book onto the counter with a sigh and hopped over.

"Move." He grunted. He put a hand on Hanna's shoulder, just strong enough that the shove was implied.

"W-wait-"

The door burst open, and the man raised a very scary-looking flamethower.

"YOU'RE BAD FOR BUSINESS, CREEPS!"

When the smoke cleared, the man turned back to Hanna.

"Anyway, you're new around here, huh?" The man said, as ordinarily as if they had just been talking about the weather. "Where'd you come from?"

Hanna stammered, frustrated by how candid he was treating this and still trying to calm down from what just happened. "E—excuse me?"

"Feh, Aerith should be the one to deal with this, not me..." the man muttered under his breath. He rolled his eyes, as if he was trying to think of what to say next. "Name's Cid. And if you're makin' an unscheduled stop in Traverse Town, you're probably not gonna get back to where you were."

Hanna wasn't sure if that was a threat or a warning. Either way, she was annoyed. "Look, I don't know what's going on and I just had to run away from monsters, so don't give me any of that. I just want to find my family."

Cid paled a bit. "Family, huh?"

"Yes, my sister and my brother and my parents, so if you see them-"

The door behind her flew open and shut again. Hanna whipped her head around to see Dani, clutched to the back of it and panting heavily.

"Is that one?" Cid asked and pointed.

"Hanna!" Dani exclaimed and embraced her sister. Hanna would have returned the favor if she could free her arms from Dani's bearhug. Once Dani finished her hug, she put her hands on Hanna's shoulders. "What's going on? Where's Dim? Are Katie and Nadine okay?"

"I don't know, I don't know and I don't know." Hanna answered.

"And now I have two non-customers in my shop." Cid sighed. "Listen, I think we need to have a talk..."

* * *

It was as sheer stroke of luck that Nadine was able to find Katie. Though Katie wasn't exactly the most level-headed among her friends, she was at least a familiar face in an unfamiliar situation. They tried their best to stay together.

That was easier said than done when they were being chased by literal monsters.

And it was be a lot easier said than done if Katie was cooperating.

"It's a very nice town." Katie observed as they entered an empty alleyway to hide in. "Very fairy-tale. I would set up a summer home here."

Nadine rolled her eyes. "Is that really all you can think about?"

Katie looked at her confused. "You don't want to figure out where we are?"

Now Nadine looked at her. "You think that's what you're doing?"

"It's a lot better than panicking." Katie said sagely. She looked skyward as Nadine tried to hide her anger. "Hey, what's that…?"

She pointed upwards at a star. Nadine caught the sight of it just in time to see it flicker.

And flicker out.

Nadine opened her mouth. Then thought better of it. She tried again.

"Are we in the Truman Show or something?!" was the best she could manage.

"Excuse me...you wouldn't happen to be with the King, would you?"

The two spun around.

"Uh...no?" Katie said.

* * *

"They'll keep coming after you...so long as you continue to wield that Keyblade."

"What?"

"But why would it ever choose a kid like you?"

"W—what's that supposed to me?"

"Never mind. Just hand it over."

…

"No? Then I suppose I'll have to do it by force."

* * *

There came a sound of clashing metal from outside.

"Are people still out there?" Dani asked.

Cid shrugged. "Entirely possibly."

"Then they might be in trouble, right? We have to go help them!"

"No, we should stay in here where it's safe." Hanna said.

"We have a flamethrower, Hanna!"

"That don't mean I'm gonna let you kids use it!" Cid snapped.

Dani remained in the building just long enough to show Hanna her pout. She scrambled out.

There was a fight, but it wasn't between monsters. They were both human, both male, one about Dani's age and the other only slightly older. And they were both wielding the most ridiculous swords Dani had ever seen.

"Ah, crimeny." Dani heard Cid say behind her. "He's overdoin' it."

She didn't wait around for context.

"Hey hey hey hey!" She called as she rushed over. "There's no need to fight-"

She took one step too far and entered the battleground. The older one couldn't stop his swing in time, and Dani caught a glimpse of metal heading straight for her head-

_Clang!_

Dani was suddenly very aware she was holding something. She burrowed out of her wince. Between the other man and her neck were two blades. One that she was holding. One that looked very much like a big key.

"Two of them?" The man breathed. It was clear he was trying not to let any emotion show. "No matter."

He raised his sword again.

Dani didn't know anything about swords. Not even in a vague sense. She certainly didn't know how to wield one, and she most certainly didn't know how to wield a sword that was shaped like a key. But the one thing that was more dangerous than a master with a sword was an  _idiot_  with a sword.

Like a small child at a piñata party, she swung wildly and rapidly. It was too fast for the older man to keep up with, and too random for him to figure out any pattern or weakness. He could only block, waiting for a chance to lunge. Whenever he got that, the other kid with a key was ready to block for her. In no time at all, the older man was knocked to his feet.

Dani and the other kid hadn't defeated him, of course, but knocking him on his butt was a small victory.

"Now cut the crap, Leon, they're just a buncha kids." Cid said.

"I'm not a kid! I'm 14!" The younger boy shouted.

"YOU'RE YOUNGER THAN SQUALL OVER THERE, YOU'RE A KID! AND I'M NOT SURE IF I'D EVEN CALL HIM A FUNCTIONING ADULT!"

"Don't call me that." The older man growled as he got back to his feet. "It's Leon."

"Sure, sure," Cid said dismissively.

"That's not really a better alternative." Hanna pointed out.

"Enough games." Leon said. He swung his sword over his shoulder. "You two are coming with me, whether you want to or not."

"And why should we listen to you?" Dani asked.

"Because I'm  _done talking."_

"Hey!" Hanna called attention to herself. "If you're planning on hurting my sister, you're gonna have to go through me-"

She held out her hand, as if to point to Leon, but the second she did another key appeared in her hand. It was differently colored than the one Dani and the other boy had, but it was the same shape and size.

Leon blinked. And blinked again.

"Ya alright there, Squall?" Cid asked.

"Six years of hard work and perseverance..." Leon mumbled. "All undone by a  _bunch of kids_."

"Oh boy." A new voice chimed in. There was a flash of movement, and another person was standing by Leon's side. She was only slightly older than Dani, and dressed in a way that looked too cold for the dead of night. "I think Squall-y here needs a naptime."

Leon let out a light murmur of disappointment in response.

* * *

"I suppose this is the easiest place to start." The flower girl, Aerith, said. "The world you lived in and the world this town is in are two different worlds altogether."

" _That's_  the easy way." Nadine raised her eyebrow pointedly.

"Please stay with me. There are many worlds. All existing simultaneously, all unaware of their existence. This world, Traverse Town, exists as a world for those who have lost their homeworld."

"But it's only  _one_  town." Katie said.

"Was your world much bigger?"

Nadine widened her eyes in shock. That was answer enough.

Aerith hummed to herself. "I see. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Eh. Earth kinda blowed, anyway."

"Your world was destroyed by the Heartless."

* * *

"The Heartless?" The younger boy, Sora, asked.

"The ones that attacked you, remember?" The girl, Yuffie, said.

"Those without hearts. The Darkness in a person's heart attracts them." Leon said.

"I'm assuming you mean metaphysical Darkness and not absence of light." Dani said.

"Please take this seriously..." Leon groaned. Though he was least able to make words now, he still seemed disappointed about how the fight turned out.

"Only when you explain why I have a giant key now." Hanna said.

* * *

"It's been said that only the Keyblade, a weapon of Light to purge the Darkness, is the only thing that can connect the worlds. Bridge the gap...or sever it."

"Alright, where do we go to get it? A locksmith?" Nadine asked.

"We're not sure. The only one that has studied this was Ansem the Wise and..." Aerith hesitated here, as if she didn't want to say it. "Those reports were lost a long time ago."

* * *

"Well I didn't ask for any of this!" Sora exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Dani sprung off the bed in her excitement. "I could think of a much better weapon like...a toaster or something."

Hanna raised an eyebrow.

"Well, if you get it wet-"

"Tough luck." Leon said. "The Keyblade chooses its master."

"Squall's just a little disappointed that he didn't get a chance to be the chosen one." Yuffie said in a stage-whisper.

"I'm disappointed that the Keyblade chose a bunch of kids who don't even know how to wield a sword." Leon countered. "And my name is Leon!"

"You know, the more you say that, the more I'm gonna think you have a secret anime backstory." Hanna said.

"We managed to beat you, you know!" Sora said.

"You only beat me because I was holding back." Leon said. "If I had gone at you with my full power-"

"Yeah, see, anime backstory!" Hanna said.

" _That doesn't matter._ " Leon said with gritted teeth. "So long as you wield those Keyblades, you're only going to end up being the target for more Heartless. So you better learn how to use them quickly."

* * *

"You mean like that thing?"

Aerith jumped off the bed and moved herself defensively between the humans and the monster. She held her staff out. "Please stay close to me! They've never attacked the Hotel before!"

"Wait, will all of that be on the test, or-" Katie started.

The Heartless lunged. Nadine held a hand out defensively, and something appeared in her hand, knocking the Heartless backward. It looked like a long white sword, with a decorative piece in the shape of a heart jutting from the tip.

"Is that-?" Aerith started.

"Cool! Can I summon weapons!" Katie asked. She held her hand out to experiment.

In a bright flash of light, another sword appeared in her hand. It looked similar enough to Nadine's, but was black and purple where hers was white and yellow, rough angles and Gothic points where hers was round curves and angel wings.

"Two of them?" Aerith asked. "But that-"

The door to the opposite room slammed open. Nadine could just catch a blur of a figure.

"Come on Aerith, we have no time to lose!" The blur said.

Aerith stole a glance at the two, then the door where the figure was heading. She gave a nod, so low that it was nearly a bow, and raised her hand. The Heartless fizzled out in an array of light. Magic, Nadine realized, as if this world could not get any more fantastical.

"This way, please!" Aerith called.

Nadine suddenly decided it was best not to doubt her.

* * *

"Don't focus on the small fries." Leon ordered. "Find the boss!"

"Easy for you to say!" Dani said. The Heartless swarmed around her and Hanna, making it hard to move in the first place.

Sora moved around them, taking care of the crowd of Heartless with just a few swings of his Keyblade.

"How do you do that?!" Hanna asked.

"Used to swordfight with Riku all the time!" Sora replied. "Didn't you?"

"A—no! We had video games to play!" Dani said.

Another Heartless. This time she swung her arm out in time to defeat it before it even came close.

"Come on! We've got no time to waste!" Sora said.

Another one got close. Something destroyed it before it could get close to hitting Dani. Dani looked up at the person that saved her.

"Naddy!"

"Don't call me that." Nadine said cooly and leaned on the—Keyblade?-she was wielding.

Dani was too flabbergasted to figure out a funny retort. Another Heartless was struck down in her peripheral vision.

"Katie?"

"Hey, look at this weapon I found!" Katie said and raised her Keyblade over her head.

* * *

"Leon? Le~on?"

Leon didn't answer. Of course, Leon probably wouldn't have answered even if he was there, but neither of them knew that.

"Gawrsh, I wonder if he's here."

"Of course he is. The King wouldn't lie to us no matter what."

"Yeah, but...maybe he went out to pick up some groceries..."

"On another world?"

The two spun around as they heard a noise. Suddenly, they weren't alone anymore.

"Gawrsh, aren't these the Heartless guys?"

"Let's go get 'em, Goofy!"

* * *

There was an explosion on the rooftops, followed by the sounds of screaming.

Sora looked up just in time to see that he was about to be squished like a pancake. His Keyblade was tossed out of his hand upon impact.

The two figures stirred on top of him. Dani's eyes widened as she saw what they really were. One was a human sized-duck, dressed in a blue top and hat. The other was perhaps a bit taller than the average human and dressed warmly and modestly so well that it was hard to tell exactly what animal he was until the Dani noticed two thin dog ears sticking out from his hat.

"The Key!" The two exclaimed as their eyes fell on Sora's Keyblade.

"Okay, I've officially gone crazy." Nadine said.

The sound of rushing air drew Dani's eyes back upward. From the sky, bits of purple armor fell. They hovered together, forming the shape of a giant suit of armor. Heartless, no doubt. This must have been the boss Leon was talking about.

"Well, if you're crazy, so am I, and if we don't do something about  _that_ , we're all going to die." Katie said.

"Right!" Dani said. "Let's get moving!" She summoned her Keyblade without thinking about it.

"Two?" The duck quaked.

The two animals eyes darted back and forth between humans as they summoned their keyblades.

"There's  _five_?!"

The Heartless lurched. Dani pulled Sora out from the bottom of the pile and near relative safety. "Any ideas?"

Nadine jumped as one of the hands swung by her. "I think we should take it apart piece by piece. But how do we get close enough to the hands?"

"Leave that to us!" The duck exclaimed. He raised his staff over his head and said something Dani couldn't quite make out anyway in that thick accent of his. A group of fireballs formed around him, and hurled themselves towards the hands.

The hands recoiled backwards from the source, but once they regained themselves, flexed into fists. One hurled its way towards the group again.

Clang!

The metal collided with metal as the dog creature jumped in the way, his shield raised. Once the shield backed away, he tossed it like a Frisbee. The shield sliced through the gauntlets. Pieces of metal fell to the ground as the dog creature retrieved his shield.

"Now what do we do about the rest of it?" Sora asked.

Dani darted her eyes back and forth, trying to find anything she could work with. Feet, torso, head… _there was a weakness!_

"Do you think you can take care of the feet?" Dani asked.

"Sure, but—"

"I've got a plan!"

A foot swung wildly towards her, and she jumped.

She pulled herself a bit higher onto the foot, still spinning. Maybe spinning worse now that they knew it had added weight. She didn't have time to think about the physics of that. As soon as it came into view again, she jumped onto the torso. A foot kicked down the foot as she lifted herself up. Her hand reached for the Keyblade. She swung.

The helmet tumbled to the ground. The breastplate shook, a sign it was going to follow the same fate. Dani jumped to a nearby rooftop before it could.

The armor clattered to the ground and faded into Darkness. A crystalline heart rose from its body and into the night sky of Traverse Town.

"Hey, uh, not to be a drag, but can anybody help me down?" Dani asked.

* * *

"You were looking for the Keyblade?" Sora asked.

"Yuh-huh! Hey, why don't you come with us? We have plenty of room on our vessel!"

"You think I could find them?" Sora asked.

"Why not." The duck said. "But not like that! Our ship runs on happy faces!"

"Sir, our home world just got destroyed, billions of lives—" Hanna started

Sora proceeded to look up with the goofiest faces Hanna had ever seen in her life.

It took a while for them to calm down enough to continue the conversation. Still, Sora didn't look like he regretted it.

"Alright. I'll go with you guys!"

"Donald Duck!"

"Name's Goofy!"

"My name's Sora!"


	3. Just Ask Alice

"Wow...if only Riku and Kairi could see this..."

For as long as humans could remember, we have reached out towards the stars. We have gravitated from imagining them as the homes of gods and lost ones to a new frontier to explore. We have studied everything from the twinkling stars in our backyard to the universes beyond ours. Yet we still know very little about the cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky. Few had seen such as sight as the stars around them, yet this was what Dani was looking at now.

"Hey! Watch yourselves!" A high pitched voice squeaked at her.

Sora and Dani looked around, trying to find the source of the complaint.

"Down here!" Another voice, no less high pitched, spoke up.

Somebody threw a rag at Dani's face. She was too stunned to take it off herself, and it fell to the floor with the grace of a ballerina in zero-gravity.

They looked down. At their feet were two chipmunks dressed in cute aprons and scrubbing furiously at the floor with tiny brooms. It would have been a perfect viral video if it weren't real.

"We're doin' our best to keep this place clean!" One squeaked.

"Yeah! At least take off your shoes when you enter the cockpit!" The other added.

"Don't mind them." Donald said, turning the pilot's chair around to face them. "They're Chip and Dale. They're our mechanics."

Another towel was flung at his face. It bounced off his beak as it tumbled.

"The ship is run by squirrels." Nadine said.

"Honestly Naddy, they're chipmunks." Katie said, completely seriously.

Nadine sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, why not."

"Our destination's coming up ahead!" Donald said, barely containing a grumble as he turned back to the wheel.

Dani turned her attention back to the window. A new planet! How many people got to see a new planet up close and personal! And it had sentient life! NASA would love her for this!

A pale pink dot came into view. As they hovered in closer, Dani could make more details out. A checkerboard like design along the surface, castles resembling chess pieces and buildings resembling those of Traverse Town poking out from the ground, and lush forests of plants Dani barely recognized.

It was also really tiny.

"That's the planet?" Nadine asked, skeptically.

"Yuh-huh! It's Wonderland!" Goofy said.

Hanna looked at him. Then back to the planet. Then back at him.

"It's a planet for ants." She concluded.

"Yeah, our minor satellites are bigger than that thing." Nadine said.

"I think its buildings are bigger than that thing." Katie said.

"Are you sure we can all fit on there?" Hanna asked.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course we—"

That was all the encouragement they needed. Sora rushed out towards the door, and Dani would have joined him if she hadn't seen Donald grab him by the collar up and knew where that was going.

"Don't be too hasty!" The duck said. "This is dangerous work, and all of you need to be on your best behavior."

Dani could have sworn that he paused to give her a look specifically.

"That's right!" Goofy added. "We have to be careful."

He walked out and opened the Gummi Ship doors.

"Look both ways before you leave the ship." Goofy said.

"That's right!" Donald added.

The two knights looked towards the left. They looked towards the right. They took a few steps out of the ship-

"Do you think you should look down first?" Sora asked.

-and plummeted to their untimely doom.

It took a while for Goofy's screams to die out. That's when Dani got worried.

"Do you think they're dead?" She asked.

"Don't know. Do you think we can take the ship down?" Nadine asked.

Slowly, Hanna made her way to the pilot's seat. She sat down with so much care it looked like she was sitting on a puppy. After a few seconds of studying the control panel, she reached out towards the panel with a shaky hand and hit a button.

The windshield wipers turned on.

"Why does the space ship even have wipers?" Nadine asked.

"Space rain?" Katie offered.

"Well, aren't you going to go after then?"

Though the voice was small, it was clear. And it was clear that no one had heard that voice before. Finally, Dani found the source on the dashboard of the ship. A small cricket, dressed impeccably.

"Hi there! I don't think I've introduced myself yet!" The cricket chirped and tipped his hat. "The name's Jiminy, Jiminy Cricket! I was sent by the Queen to record your journey!"

"Is this a petting zoo with wings?" Nadine mumbled.

Jiminy made a face, but didn't say anything else on that.

"Now, aren't you going to go after them?" He asked instead.

"How? We can't just jump down there!" Hanna said.

Jiminy pulled his umbrella up.

"You're joking."

"A little bit. But I do know that they would do the same for you." Jiminy said.

They paused to think.

"You're very compelling, Mr. the Cricket." Katie said.

"I work as a professional Conscious, you know." Jiminy said. He looked very proud of himself.

"Alright, how do you expect us to get down there, then?" Nadine asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" Sora asked.

He jumped.

"I was afraid that was the answer." Hanna said.

Dani followed closely after.

* * *

"How long do you think we've been falling?" Nadine asked.

"Dunno. An hour?" Hanna answered. She had long ago turned to one of the books in her bag and leafed through it idly, never quite absorbing the information due to how much the wind blew pages around.

"Feels longer. Kinda stopped being scary."

"FLOOR HO!" Sora called.

They collided with tiled flooring. It took them a minute to get up, more out of the fact that they had forgotten how legs worked than they had seriously injured themselves.

The room they were now in was a kitchen. A bit oddly designed, sure, but otherwise just a regular kitchen. It was easy to find Donald and Goofy, who were staring at a wall with grumpy expressions.

"Took your time." Donald grumbled.

"That was a very long fall." Katie said. "Trying to find a way through that door?"

Nadine looked down closer.  _That_  door. But that door was tiny. A mouse probably couldn't fit through it.

"He says he won't let us in." Goofy said.

"You've gendered the door?" Nadine asked.

"Are you certain?" Katie asked.

"You're all too  _big_!" A new voice spoke.

The door was talking. The door. Was talking.

"Alright, I'm not sure what I expected from this trip, but it wasn't this." Nadine sighed.

"Why don't you try the potion on the table?" The door said and yawned. "That girl already has."

All eyes turned to the table, though Donald was the first to reach for it. He unscrewed the cap, and smells filled the air.

"Cherry tart…custard…pinapple…roast turkey…toffee…burned toast…" He muttered. "This is a Shrinking Potion!"

"But is it safe?" Katie asked.

"As safe as any of my magic!"

"You burn things." Hanna pointed out.

"So will you try it or not?" Donald asked.

"Alright." Sora said.

He took the bottle and took a sip.

"That wasn't too ba—"

Sora was gone.

Nadine checked under the table. Sora, now barely over a foot, sat comfortably on the armrest.

It took a long time for the bottle to be passed around, especially since most of them had their suspicions. Nadine was last, trying to make sure that it wasn't just poison. Once they did, they filed through the door.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!"

The booming voice was probably audible through the entire planet. The seven wandered through the garden towards its general direction. The hedges opened up to reveal a rather elaborate court room.

"COURT IS NOW IN SESSION!" The judge called.

"Ooh, a courtroom drama!" Katie whispered.

"This girl definitely did it." The judge said and leaned back into her chair. "And do you know why? BECAUSE I SAID SO!"

"That's completely unfair!" The girl that stood before the court protested. She looked young, not even ten, but dressed and held herself in a way that made her look more formal than she had any business being. "You may be the queen, but that doesn't give you the right to be so...so mean!"

A hush fell over the court. The girl seemed to realize that wasn't the thing she should have said and shrunk back into herself. The Queen was fuming.

"GUILTY! GUILTY AS CHARGED!" The Queen shrieked.

"We have to help her!" Sora said.

"It's none of our business." Donald replied.

"OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

"They'll kill her if we don't!" Dani said.

"And that's not our problem!" Donald said. "Listen, if you're going to be the Key, you need to learn something about world order. Whatever happens on this planet happens. Our concern is to stop the Heartless!"

"FOR THE CRIME OF TRYING TO STEAL MY HEART!"

Donald's eyes widened.

"You were saying?" Hanna asked.

"Wait a minute!" Sora cried as he rushed out from their hiding spot.

"OBJECTION!" Dani shouted as she followed.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" The Queen shouted. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO INTERFERE WITH MY COURTROOM!"

"But we know who the real culprit is!" Dani said.

"Oh? AND DO YOU HAVE ANY PROOF?"

Dani and Sora looked at each other.

Nadine fought the urge to bury her head in a hand. Instead, she busied herself with trying to memorize all of the court-cases she had seen her mother both present and prepare for. It was clear the Queen wasn't going to listen to the right answer without a good reason to, so Nadine would just have to stall for time.

"Excuse me Your Honor and/or Majesty." Nadine spoke up. "This court case cannot continue any further until the defendant has proper legal consultation, especially if two witnesses to the event want to testify."

"Sure!" Dani said.

The Queen pouted and leaned back in her chair. "Very well."

From above, a human-sized gold birdcage dropped around the defendant, shutting her in.

"COURT IS ADJOURNED FOR A BRIEF RECESS! And if you can't prove that she's innocent, THEN IT'S OFF WITH ALL OF YOUR HEADS!"

The gavel smacked down on the podium, and Nadine felt her shoulder relax.

"Well now you've done it." Donald said as he approached them. "How do you expect to prove her innocent?"

"It shouldn't be too hard." Katie said. "We already know who did it."

"You're right." Goofy said. "All we have to do is find the Heartless."

"Um, excuse me." The girl spoke up. "The Cheshire Cat in the forest may know something if you're looking for evidence. But do be careful. Things really do make no sense around here."

"And we have a lead!" Katie said. "Come on Goofy, let's go be detectives!"

* * *

The forest didn't appear to be very big to the untrained eye. The problem was that Sora was the size of a hand when he entered, so everything looked big. Blades of grass rose above him. Mushrooms rose like trees, touching the sky. Sora was pretty sure if he had been his usual height, he could have traverse the entire forest in one step.

"Can't we just tell the Queen the Heartless are responsible?" Sora asked. He swung his arms behind his head.

"We have to consider the world border." Goofy said.

" _Order_." Donald corrected. "We're already interfering enough as is. Other worlds should be kept as they are."

"Well, that may or may not be true."

The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. Sora spun his head around, trying to find a source, and stopped when he saw a smile floating over a mushroom. The space around the mushroom grew pink and purple, and soon, a creature that greatly resembled a cat had filled the area.

"After all, this is a world of wonder and nonsense. What's the point of keeping a secret?" It asked.

Sora got his wits about him first. "You wouldn't happen to be the Cheshire Cat, would you?"

"Well, the only me is me," The cat said and lazily inspected his claws. "Are you sure the only you is you?"

Sora didn't quite know what it was asking, so he decided to continue anyway. "Alice is in trouble. We're looking for the evidence to clear her, and she said you would be of some help."

"Ah yes." The cat tossed his paw outward. A pink box landed at Sora's feet. "I wouldn't open that just yet if I were you. It would make a great party favor."

Donald grumbled. "What's the big idea!?"

"Why Donald, I'm hurt." The cat said. "After all the time we've spent together, do you really not trust me?"

Sora's eyebrows furrowed together as he tried to figure out what the Cheshire Cat was implying. They had only been talking for a minute!

"Well, I suppose that is your role. But do try to keep in mind if you're not... _forgetting_  anything."

The Cheshire Cat began to fade again. Only his smile remained, and only for a second.

"I wonder what that was about." Goofy said.

"Never mind him." Donald said. "Let's see what's inside."

Sora opened the lid.

* * *

"SALE! END OF WONDERLAND SALE! EVERYTHING MUST GO!"

"What's this about?" Hanna asked.

"End of Wonderland sale!" The shopkeeping sheep answered. "Feel free to look to either side of you, Feather."

Hanna couldn't figure out if that was supposed to be an joke or not.

"Why do you think the world's ending?" Dani asked.

"Haven't you heard? The Red King is going to wake up soon!" The sheep said. "When he does, Wonderland is going to go out-bang!-like a candle!"

"What makes you think that?" Hanna said. There was more trepidation in her voice, and she knew that, but this was an important question to have answered.

"You really don't know much, do you Feather? We're all a part of his dream! You, me, the boats, everything!"

Dani and Hanna looked at each other.

" _Probably_  not Heartless." Dani said.

"No, but still worrying." Hanna finished. "Let's see if we can't pass this on to the others once we finished up this court business."

"Well, at least they've accepted their inevitable demise. I'll take a boat, please!"

"Good luck getting that in the Gummi Ship."

Dani bought an egg instead.

* * *

"OBJECTION!" Nadine shouted.

"OBJECTION!" The Queen of Hearts shouted back.

"OBJECTION!"

"OBJECTION!"

"OBJECTION!"

This had been going on for the last 5 minutes.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" The Queen of Hearts bellowed. "If you can't produce the evidence you need in the next three seconds, then IT'S OFF WITH ALL OF YOUR HEADS!"

In the next two seconds, a Heartless ran up. Instinctively, Nadine summoned her Keyblade to knock it away from them. A crystalline, semi-translucent heart floated up into the sky and out of sight.

"There's your evidence, Your Majesty and/or Honor!" Sora exclaimed as he, Goofy and Donald rushed into the court garden. "Don't you see Alice is innocent!"

With a blast of his magic, Donald knocked the cage holding Alice down. It clattered and rattled as it fell, and Nadine bit back her breath. That certainly wasn't safe for a 9 year old girl. The curtain fell off.

Nobody was inside.

"Alice? WHERE IS ALICE?" The Queen asked.

Nadine exchanged a look with Katie.  _Nobody_  could have been up there without any of them noticing, not even a Heartless. Alice had made no sound since the trial started, and there was no way she could escape even if she hadn't been holstered up in the air.  _Where could she have gone?_

"YOU!" The Queen pointed towards a set of card soldiers. "Go find Alice! I DON'T CARE HOW JUST DO IT!"

They scurried off, nearly bumping into Dani and Hanna as they did.

"As for the rest of you..." The Queen started "OFF-"

The ground rumbled, and then Nadine realized that something was following the two twins.

It was a Heartless, no doubt. It was very thin and appeared to be made from red and blue blocks, some with faces. Its arms and legs were made of a material that looked almost ribbon-like, albeit crushed, and in its hands it tossed about two juggler's clubs. But its height—even if Nadine had never taken that stupid potion, it would still probably eclipse her. In her current state, if everyone present stood on each other's shoulders, they might not reach the top.

In a few quick movements, Donald and Goofy knocked the Card Soldiers pursuing them out of the way. They fell and flopped to the ground like the paper they were. In that time, however, the Heartless set their sights on them. It tossed one of its juggling clubs into the air, and exhaled jets of fire through the garden before it could fall completely.

Donald's tailfeathers had ignited in the blast, in a sight that would have been hilarious if it also wasn't extremely dangerous. "HOT, HOT HOT!"

"Oh dear." A voice near Nadine's ear gasped. "This really has gotten out of hand hasn't it? I should have brought some snacks."

Nadine snapped her head around until she saw the source. A purple and pink cat was perched near her shoulder. She could feel no weight on her shoulder nor feel any fur or whiskers, and she certainly did not remember inviting him along.

"You!" Sora exclaimed as he tried his best to dodge the incoming attacks. "You tricked us!"

"Why Sora, I'm hurt." The cat said in a way that certainly didn't sound like he was. "Do you really have that little faith in me?"

Sora couldn't respond do to the fact that he was on fire.

"Well, allow me to make up for it." The cat said.

Nadine's Keyblade ran cold. Instinctively, she held it away from herself, and saw a blast of ice collide with Donald's butt, extinguishing the fire.

"A Keyblade Master should be able to use a little bit of magic, right?" The cat asked. "Even if you're not."

Nadine was just about to ask  _just what he meant by that_  when the Heartless set its sights on her. She jumped out of the way, bashing away the juggling clubs that followed her. She landed and held her Keyblade out again. Nothing happened.

Donald sent a Cure spell towards Sora and turned his attention towards Nadine. "In order to use magic, you need to concentrate! Accumulate power with you Keyblade! Imagine the enemy freezing!"

_I don't want to use magic at all!_  She thought. The fireballs cascading in her direction made her change her mind. Nadine shifted and held her Keyblade out in front of her. Still, nothing was happening.

"That sounds easy!" Dani said. She jumped in Nadine's way as the Heartless sent its clubs back towards her, and knocked them both back with two icy blasts. Two of the blocks that formed its head popped off.

Sora followed suit, and two more heads of the Heartless knocked off. Katie jumped from her place as Defense to Judge, climbed to the very top of the chair, and jumped again to bash the Heartless's head in with her Keyblade. The last head popped off, and the rest of the body crumbled under it.

Nadine helped Katie back onto her feet after she collided with the ground. Once she was sure she was safe, she set her sights on the cat. "Just what are you?"

"Oh, you can't be too sure here." The cat said casually. "Perhaps I am just a cat, or perhaps I am just a memory. But if it's a name you want, I'm the Cheshire Cat."

"Well, thank you Mr. Cat, for giving us magic." Katie said.

"But of course! The Cheshire Cat always helps those in need!"

"And the benefit of sending a giant Heartless on us?" Dani asked.

"Leveling up." The Cheshire Cat said it so quickly and with so much conviction that Nadine honestly believed it to be true for just a moment.

Nadine quickly realized they were getting nowhere. "Come on guys, let's go look for Alice."

"I'm afraid you're not going to find her here." The Cheshire Cat said. He left Nadine's shoulder to appear on the scorched hedges and stretched. "She's gone."

"Gone?" Sora asked. "What do you mean,  _gone_?"

"Why don't you tell me, if you're so keen on preserving world order?" The cat asked. "Have you found the answer to my question yet, by the way?"

"Huh?"

"The only me is me. Are you sure the only you is you?"

* * *

They were back in the kitchen.  _How_  were they back in the kitchen? Nadine barely had time to blink…

"Oh. You're back." The door said. He yawned.

Dani noticed something glowing in the knob it used as a mouth. "What is—"

A light shot through Dani's vision. It landed in the keyhole. A satisfying click noise echoed through the kitchen.

"What…was  _that_?" Sora asked, inspecting the tip of his Keyblade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Author's Note: Anyone who knows me knows that Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is one of my favorite books of all time. It's a cliché answer, I know, but it has less to do with the book itself and more how the story has shaped who I am. The story is never the same; there's always a different interpretation or different things I focus on and it makes me feel like I've grown with this story. But anyway what a weird choice for the first level of Kingdom Hearts. We need to establish the norm for most of the game, so let's throw in the most un-normal things possible. It works for me, because I know of what's going to chance in this adaptation and I can use how crazy Wonderland is to my advantage. The Cheshire Cat knows too, but I'm not sure who told him.


	4. I Need a Hero

"Wow, this place is most tranquil."

"Yes. It reminds me of the cover to House of the Holy."

"Dust,"

"Wind,"

"Quit quoting your 80's movies and come on!" Nadine snapped.

Katie and Dani pouted.

There was only one building on Olympus Coliseum as far as they could see, so that's where they headed. Despite how grand it looked on the outside, the interior was small and dim, only decorated by a few pedestals and cups that looked like trophies. The only figure in it was a minotaur, perched precariously on one of the pedestals and tinkering around with a scorecard.

"Good timin'." The minotaur said without looking up. "Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there."

The seven looked at each other. Eventually, Sora decided to take the bait and leaned on the pedestal. He pushed, pushed, and pushed some more. Hanna would be generous to say it move a micrometer.

"THIS THING IS WAY TOO HEAVY!" Sora said.

That caught the minotaur's attention. "What! Too heavy! Herc, since when have you been such a little-"

The minotaur spun, and actually realized who he was talking to. "Huh. Wrong guy. Well, whyever you're here, I'm busy! The Pegasus Cup's right around the corner, and I don't got time to deal with a buncha pipsqueaks!"

"Taller than you." Hanna said despite herself.

"You're nothin'. Ya can't even move a pedestal!"

As if to prove his point, the minotaur jumped from the pedestal he was perched on and walked over to the other. He pushed, and pushed, and pushed. Hanna didn't think it could actually make negative damage, but it seemed to be going in that direction.

"That's about what I was expecting." Nadine said.

"LISTEN HERE!" The minotaur snapped. "THIS HERE'S THE WORLD-FAMOUS COLOSSEUM! HEROES ONLY!"

"We're heroes!" Katie said defensively.

"I mean, we've fought two giant monsters and lost a little girl." Nadine said. "I'm not sure how heroic that is."

"Yeah? Well, if you don't got an entry pass, then scram!" The minotaur said.

The minotaur jumped back onto his pedestal and ignored them. Dani looked like she was about to start a fight, but Hanna quickly defused it by placing a hand on her shoulder. It didn't stop her from slamming the door behind her.

"What's that goat's big idea!" Sora shouted. "Treating me like a child!"

"Yeah!" Donald said. "We're genuine heroes, chosen by the Keyblade!"

"You tell 'em, Donald!" Dani joined in.

"I thought we were supposed to be keeping that a secret." Nadine said. Goofy shrugged in response.

"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say? Ignoring such up-and-coming challengers like you?"

The seven spun around. A figure approached them from the south gates. It looked definitively male, but also had blue skin and a flame for hair.

"Certainly, Hercules is a prized pupil." He went on. His voice was smooth and silky, and had the exact same amount of charm that jerks who presented themselves as nice guys had. "But what's he going to do when the Jerk is gone?"

Nobody quite had an answer to that, because nobody was quite sure what he was getting at.

"And just who are you?" Donald asked, trepidation in his voice.

"Whoa there fuzzball. No need to get defensive." The man held his hands out in front of him teasingly. "You want to prove it to them, right? Well, get a load of  _this_."

He held out his hand. Though Hanna was pretty sure there was nothing in it before, now there was a shining golden ticket.

"What's this?" Sora asked.

"An entry pass for one team to the Pegasus Cup!" The man said. "And consider this one on the house."

The man got close, too close for comfort, to Hanna. She held her breath and tried to calm down her heart-rate.

"You have the eyes of a hero."

* * *

"No way...how did you get a hold on this pass?" The minotaur asked.

"It doesn't matter!" Dani said. "We have a pass, so let us fight!"

The minotaur looked torn. "Come on kid, a wimp like you who can't even move a pedestal's gonna get ripped to shreds in the ring. And you four!"

The four women in the room stared him down.

"Go on." Hanna said. "I dare you."

The minotaur swallowed and thought better of it. "Do you have any experience that he doesn't?"

The four women shrugged in acceptance and murmured a chorus of "you've got a point".

"To be honest, it can't be that hard to move the pedestal." Katie said. "I mean, if we all team together..."

The minotaur paced around the lobby, lost in thought. He slowed and snapped his fingers as he reached a decision.

"Alright. Here's what we'll do." He said. "You'll get the special hero's training, all on me!"

"Huh?" Sora asked.

"We'll see what you can do! Do you have what it takes?"

"Ooh!" Katie said. "Are we gonna have a training montage like Rocky?"

"These are boxes." Dani pointed out.

"Destroy every box in the ring before the time runs out." Phil said. "I've got plenty of formations planned out, so best get movin'!"

"Okay, what does destroying boxes teach us about-" Nadine started.

"Timer starts now!"

* * *

"How  _convenient_  that the kids with the Keyblades are here."

The voice was filled with accusation, and he was pretty sure that  _that_  kind of attitude wasn't allowed in his contract.

"They'll be entering the tournament. Don't blow it." He said.

"You want me to fight them? Sorry, but my contract says-"

"Yes, yes, I know what the contract says! But to get to Hercules, you're gonna have to get through them first. What's a few casualties along the way?"

He didn't say anything, and Hades only noticed he was gone once the door closed behind him.

"Geeze. Stiffer than the stiffs back home." Hades shrugged off.

Suckers like that were hard to come by.

* * *

Katie collapsed onto the coliseum bleachers. "How long have we been at this again?"

"Two and a half hours." Hanna said. She sounded as exhausted as Katie felt.

"Why?" Nadine panted. "Why does he have so many boxes?"

"You ain't heroes yet, but you're getting' better." Phil said. "Bein' strong ain't the only thing that makes a hero."

"THEN WHY ARE WE DOING THIS!" Nadine snapped.

Phil continued regardless. "Ya need  _heart_ , kids. Ya need to be strong in both muscle and heart!"

"The heart is composed of cardiac muscle." Nadine said. She was ignored.

"How do we get a strong heart, then?" Sora asked.

"If you have to ask, you're not a hero yet!"

All heads snapped towards the new voice. A figure stood in the doorway. In terms of dress he looked a little odd, apron over short tunic and bandana over his rather long hair. Considering his biceps were bigger than her head, she decided not to question it.

"Hey Phil." He greeted. "Finished cleaning the toilets."

"Ah perfect!" Phil exclaimed. "Let me introduce ya to my prized pupil! The strongest, kindest, and most handsome hero, Hercules!"

* * *

"AND HE'S THE ONLY THING STANDING IN MY WAY!"

It took Hades a few seconds to calm down his flames. He picked up a few of the chess pieces off of the ground and realigned them.

"But why worry? The pieces are all falling into place..."

"Hades, I-"

Hades scrambled to hide all of his pieces. "Did they not teach you to KNOCK in wherever you came from?"

The boy ignored him. Typical. "I had a question about the kid."

"Well, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, but KNOCK NEXT TIME!"

Silence.

"You didn't see anything, right?" Hades asked.

"No Lord Hades, I definitely didn't see you playing with your dolls again." The boy said.

Hades slicked back the flames on his head in an effort to control his flames again. "What's your question again?"

"There are five of them. Which one do you want me to take out?"

"Does it matter? Any one! All of them! As soon as I get my hands on that Keyblade, I'll be able to release the seal of the Titans!"

The boy let out a breath in something that probably was supposed to be a scoff. Hades didn't care. That was probably the most emotion he'd shown since they met.

* * *

"Wha...cleaning toilets?" Phil asked.

"Yeah. That's what you signed me up to do." The hero said.

"Herc, why would I assign ya to clean toilets so close to the tournament!"

"Well, you did want us to move furniture around earlier." Nadine said.

"That's different! That thing was mucking around with my feng shui!"

"But while I was cleaning, I went over the entry list." Hercules said. "Lot of weird first timers. Not sure what that's about."

Nadine did. Heartless. "So maybe there was a reason for all of this." She muttered under her breath.

Donald gave her a look and pulled her in closer. The others followed.

"Why do you think Heartless are entering the tournament?" Sora asked. His whispering voice wasn't exactly what Nadine would call whispering, but at least he was trying.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nadine asked. "They want hearts, people have hearts, a fighting tournament's the perfect place to kill people without raising suspicion."

"What are you guys whisperin' about?" Phil said, voice thick with suspicion.

"Let's focus our efforts." Nadine said. "We'll go take a look around for anything suspicious. You focus on the tournament."

"Right!" Donald's whisper voice was even worse than Sora's.

"Yeah! How hard can it be?"

* * *

Sora was tossed backwards. His back collided with the ground, and it took him a second to see straight again. He tried to get back up, but the second he stirred he was met with a sword bigger than he was directly pointed at his neck.

"What was Hades thinking, sending me to fight you?" The stranger mumbled. "You're not match for me."

"Sora!" He heard Donald squawk.

"Kid!" He heard Phil shout. "Hang on, I'll see if I can't find those girls of yours!"

The stranger's eyes darted away from Sora. "I assume that's the Keyblade?"

Sora decided now was a bad time to nod.

Something Sora couldn't recognize flickered in the stranger's eyes. His sword drifted upwards, just enough that Sora felt safe to breathe again. "There's no need to take you out. Just hand me the Keyblade."

* * *

"WHAT THE ME IS HE DOING!"

It took Pain and Panic to calm down the flames this time. Hades would be more embarrassed by it if he wasn't  _absolutely livid._

"Why can't a pawn just listen to its master?" He sighed.

He rearranged the pieces.

The sword was removed from his neck completely. Sora would have been relieved if he it wasn't pointed at something else now. From his viewpoint, Sora couldn't quite make it out. He could tell that big and black and scary looking.

He scrambled to his feet and grabbed the Keyblade. Three heads lowered to look him in the eye and growled at him.

"PUPPY!" He heard Katie exclaim.

"Kids, I got two words for ya!" Phil shouted from the sidelines. "ATTACK!"

Sora was about to shout back how wrong that statement was but he was distracted as the dog lunged for him. He jumped out of the way, nearly tripping on his feet as he did.

Dani jumped inbetween them, tossing her Keyblade. It landed in the middle dog's mouth, prying its jaws open. The dog shook its head wildly, and the Keybade went flying.

"That was my only good idea, run away!"

Sora jumped out of the way again. No, but that was a good idea! They just needed to have better control. He scanned the battlefield. There. He had a plan.

Fireballs cascaded from the sky. Sora ran. He tripped. He rolled. If there wasn't so much going on already, he probably would have found it very impressive. He somersaulted straight into the exact person he needed to talk to.

"Hey! Can you give me a boost onto the dog's back?"

The warrior knocked back a group of fireballs with his sword. "Can't."

"Why not?"

"Can't fly."

"But what about that wing on your back?"

The man looked conflicted. "It represents my inner turmoil. But you might have an idea there."

He pulled off his scarf and handed it to Sora. Before Sora could ask any further, he ran off, sword raised.

Sora needed another plan.

"Goofy, duck!" He ordered.

" _Donald!"_ Donald snapped.

"No,  _duck_!"

"Oh! Got it!" Goofy bent over. Sora charged and jumped on his back. As he rose, he just managed to grab Donald by his wing and hoist him onto his shoulders.

Donald seemed to get the idea. As soon as they were steady, he jumped onto the dog's back. He reached for Sora. The back would have already been unstable even without the two other dog heads angrily snapping at him. He moved as quickly as he could and wrapped the scarf around the dog's necks.

"Alright." Sora said. "Now let's get you back to where you're from, alright?"

Cerberus went for a walkie.

* * *

"'And thus I hereby dub thee Junior Heroes—"

"Junior?" Donald snapped.

Phil looked up from the decree. "I can't just throw around the title willy-nilly! You've got a long way to go before you can be considered bona-fide heroes! Now, 'Junior Heroes, and do confer the rights to participate in the games. Furthermore'—hey where's that blonde friend of yours?"

Nadine shrugged. "She's so proud of figuring out how to move the pedestal that she's now trying to nail Jello to a tree. Don't know what's she's expecting, we haven't seen a single tree since we got here…"

"Hey Mr. Moody Pants!"

The warrior barely acknowledged her presence. "Strife."

"Huh?"

"Mr. Strife. But if you have to call me anything, call me Cloud." He said.

"Good lord that cannot be your actual name." Katie stopped that train of thought when she realized just how moody Mr. Moody Pants looked. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I've lost something important." Cloud said. "I thought if I worked with Hades I could find it. But instead I just fell further into Darkness."

Katie joined him on the steps. "I'm sorry. Hey, would you like some Jello?"

Cloud let out a breath of air that may or may not have been a laugh. "I think I'll pass. You're looking for something to, aren't you?"

"In a sense." Katie said. "That's more Dani, Hanna and Sora's motus. I just want everything to be better."

"That might be harder to find." He stood. "Let me give you some advice: Whatever you do, don't lose sight of your Light."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I really don't have any strong feelings about Hercules. It's fine. Don't think I've actually seen it all the way through in one sitting though. But Olympus Coliseum as a world is baffling to me. On the one hand, I absolutely get the tournament arc theme (and I think it works a lot better as an introduction world than Wonderland); but on the other, why is this the world that we see the Final Fantasy characters in their Final Fantasy roles? And why is there no follow up to it?
> 
> The beginning part was based on Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Yes they were talking about ancient Greece and not Rome where Olympus Coliseum is supposed to take place, but let's face it: Hercules' internal mythology is a mess.


	5. Jungle Cruise

Things always started out so simply.

"Alright. What's our next course?" Donald asked as he settled into the Gummi Ship. He was quickly joined by two teenagers.

"I wanna fly!"

"Hey! Stop it!"

"C'mon Donald, I've driven before!" Dani said.

"Dani, you've driven a bumper car before." Hanna said. "That's not the same thing as an _actual spaceship."_

"Then you could teach us, Donald!" Dani said.

"There's no way you're flying this ship and that's final!" Donald said.

Hanna disliked flying, much less flying in space. As such, she usually kept her eyes inside a book during the time she was in the Gummi Ship. She didn't see what was going on at the pilot's seat. All she heard was them screaming, and  _then_  she decided to panic.

She found out later that they crashed into a meteor.

The Gummi Ship plummeted onto the surface of the nearest possible planet. The crash was slowed to a halt as the ship fell through trees, and once it landed on a somewhat-steady surface, for however long, Hanna decided to jump out of it. She was followed by Nadine, then Dani, then Katie, before the ship lost its balance on the cone-shaped roof and tumbled down. She didn't see Donald, Goofy, or Sora, and eventually lost sight of the ship in the thick of the forest.

"Wow." Katie said. "If I had a nickel for every time I've seen a dog and a duck plummet to their death...I'd have three nickels."

The others stared at her.

"I'm just saying, it's weird that it's happened thrice."

"How are we going to find them again?" Hanna asked.

"I suppose we're going to have to climb down." Nadine answered. "Let's just hope we can find them."

"Why would we climb down?" Katie asked. "We're in a  _tree-house_!"

Dani looked around. Her eyes lit up. Hanna got worried.

"Yeah! This place is awesome! Let's just retire here!" Dani said.

* * *

All four stopped when they heard a growl behind them.

"Okay." Nadine said once they had escaped the cheetah. "We're going to have to go find the others and the ship. And by the looks of things, we just got dropped off in the rainforest. We need to work together and stay focused. No side quests, no Heartless!"

"So we're going on a safari?" Dani asked.

"Well, safari is more of an  _eastern_  African thing, and we're definitely off the coast if we could be considered on an Earth-like planet at all-" Katie started.

"So we're on a  _safari_!" Dani said. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Could you tell me what this place is?" Sora asked.

"This place, this place." The man said. He seemed to think that was a good answer.

"Right..." It was then that Sora fell into a trap plagued by tourists of any kind.

"I'm looking for my  _friends_." He spoke slowly and clearly, and gestured as needed.

The man mimicked the actions. " _Friends_."

"Yes! The loud on is Dona-" Sora stopped. That wasn't what he was interested in asking. "I'm looking for my friends,  _Riku_  and  _Kairi_."

"Riku, friend?" The man asked.

"Yes!"

"Kairi...friend?"

"Right! Do you know where they are?"

"They are...here."

"Really! Can you show me where!?"

The man let out a series of noises Sora had only heard in monkeys before. "Here."

"Really? Can you show me where?" Sora repeated, and tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. He failed.

The man nodded briskly, and grabbed Sora by the wrist. Sora suddenly regretted every decision that led him up to this point. They leaped through the window.

* * *

"Good afternoon ladies and—well, there are only ladies here. My name is Kaitlyn and I'll be your skipper, your tour-guide, your alligator wrestler, your Swahili translator, your hula instructor and your hula dancer! And if you don't laugh at any of my jokes, I'll also be your swimming teacher!"

"Is this going to be full of puns?" Hanna asked.

"You better know it! Today we are going to be traveling through this Deep Forest in vaguely South Africa, looking for wildlife and buried treasure!"

"Is that what people do on safaris?" Dani asked.

"No, mostly it's big game hunting." Nadine answered.

"Yeah, but what are the chances we're going to find some big game in this jungle?" Katie said. "Oh look, a cheetah!"

* * *

 

"I wonder where we are..." Goofy thought aloud. That was actually how he did most of this thinking.

Donald didn't say anything.

"I hope the others are alright." He added.

"Ah, who needs 'em!" Donald snapped. "We can find the King on our own!"

He spun, and came face to face with a gorilla.

* * *

"Hey, did you hear that?" Nadine asked.

"Ah yes, the wonderful sounds of nature!" Katie said. "That would be the lovely tropical birds!"

"It sounded like  _Donald_." Hanna said.

"He's a duck, ducks exist in nature, don't be racist."

"I think 'we've passed the point of casual racism when we couldn't figure out which part of Africa we're in." Nadine said.

Silence fell upon the group, save for the noises of a duck and a gorilla screaming in the distance.

"Hey, why don't we move on? I think I've found our treasure!" Katie said.

Dani had to stand on her toes to see past her. "Wait, that's not buried treasure. That's our ship!"

The once proud Gummi ship was in a sorry state. The front had been hit a dead on collision, and had been crushed inwards. Wings were bent down. A steady stream of smoke rose from the tailpipe.

"We're okay!" Chip and Dale squeaked from inside. The two chipmunks scurried out from the broken windshield to meet the four humans.

"Can't say that much for the ship." Hanna said. "How are we going to get out of here?"

"We might have just enough gummi pieces for a quick repair!" Chip said.

"Yeah!" Dale added. "And if we're really lucky, it'll be just enough to get us to Traverse Town before we'll have ta hire Cid ta make us a new one!"

"You really think so?" Dani asked.

The two pilots nodded enthusiastically and jumped.

"Alright then! Let's get-"

And all of a sudden, there was a person in her path. Probably more than a little older than Dani herself, probably human. Though the rest of him was hard to see, Dani could see his face; cold calculating eyes, stricken with grief. Big, thick forehead veins. Antlers for hair.

"Hello there!" Katie said. "Are you lost too?"

The man smiled. The hairs on the back of Dani's neck stood up.

_Death is a sweet slumber_

_All the pain of life is gently swept away_

_Ah yes_

_If all life were to end on Spira…_

_all suffering would end._

_Don't you see?_

Those weren't words. Those weren't real words that were released via soundwaves into the air to eventually reach her eardrums. But they were there, echoing through the cleaning.

"What's a Spira?" Katie asked.

"What's with his hair?" Nadine asked.

_Come with me, Lady Yuna, to the lost city of Zanarkand, the city of the dead_

"I'm getting a bad feeling from this guy." Hanna said.

_With death on our side, we will save Spira..._

"What, do you think he's a Heartless?" Nadine asked.

"Don't ask me,  _I_  failed the test!" Katie said.

_I will be the one to save Spira!_

_I will destroy it!_

"Those seem like mutually exclusive goals, buddy." Hanna said.

The figure shifted again, becoming one with the Darkness around him. Suddenly, the thing standing before then wasn't human, or even human  _passing_. It was a Heartless. A big one at that. Thick armor grew over his entire body. His hair, as ridiculous as it was before, thickened and grew into a form of armor behind him. Lights swirled around him, and he rose above the ground. A scorpion-like creature nearly as big as Dani crawled around his shoulder, and on his back Dani could make out the Heartless emblem.

But there is no salvation for the damned! Enjoy your peace, in eternal darkness!

The fight began. Dani jumped, avoiding a set of spells that looked like they would have roasted her to a crisp if she weren't as fast. She summoned her Keyblade and jumped forward.

The Heartless creature swung its tail at her, and Dani collided with the closest tree.

The branch she landed on was huge, probably big enough to be its own tree. It held her weight easily as she was able to get back up to her feet. She surveyed the scene. With that Heartless hanging there, she wasn't sure how much she could do. So that would just be her first target.

She fired what magic she knew towards the Heartless. The Heartless froze, however temporarily, but that just gave the others time to spring into action. Katie got there first, and reached for the Heartless' tail. Bright lights obscured her vision.

The Heartless thrashed against her, causing her to fall. She caught herself on the tail, and swung up just high enough to kick it in the face. She switched hands to slash the Heartless across the face with her Keyblade. She switched hands again. She slashed the Heartless across the face with her Keyblade. She tried again, and realizing there were two Keyblades in her hand, fell to the ground.

The new Keyblade didn't look like any of the others. At one point, it actually might have looked like a proper sword. Golden latticework had been added on top of it, giving the blade better reach and width even at the cost of structural integrity.

"I can summon two weapons?" Katie asked as she stared at the new Keyblade.

"No fair! I wanna dual wield!" Dani said.

The Heartless was now off of its owner's shoulder, and it wasn't happy about it. More spells summoned underfoot and the other three jumped to dodge them. Dani changed her targets, and jumped off her perch. She charged with her (one) Keyblade, and swung towards the figure of the man.

Katie joined her.

"Do you know how to use two?" Dani asked.

"I barely know how to use  _one_!" Katie answered.

* * *

"Friends here. See friends." Tarzan said.

Sora looked around. As beautiful and majestic as the cave was, they were the only ones inside.

Tarzan let out a series of ooks again, and looked proud of himself.

"Oh, I think I understand." Jane spoke up. "I think he means 'heart'."

" _Heart_." Tarzan repeated carefully. "Friend, same heart. Clayton, lose heart. No heart, no friend.

"Oh." Sora said. He tried to hide his disappointment.

Tarzan seemed to realize this and turned back to him. "Heart, guide home."

A flutter of butterflies flew past, and as they cleared, Sora saw the Keyhole on the cave wall.

* * *

More spells were fired haphazardly in their general direction. Nadine batted away the ones that got too close with her Keyblade. Hanna crawled under her and slashed at the scorpion Heartless. Its tail twitched and swung. Easily dodged. But in that time, it started to crawl back to its owner.

Nadine tried to fire off what magic she knew to knock it back. A bright light, the same that usually occurs when she summons the Keyblade, obscured her vision however briefly. Pinpoints of magic, almost like bullets, shot from the tip of her Keyblade and collided with the Heartless.

She pulled her Keyblade back and stared at it. "How long could I do that?"

She didn't have enough time to think about it. Dani jumped, chopping the man down with her Keyblade and moving to do the same to the scorpion. It moved before she could. She recovered and grabbed onto the tail for dear life.

The scorpion, seeming to realize it had already lost, crawled onto the walls and leaped towards the tree. Dani refused to let go.

"Nevermind  _how_ ,  _can_  you shoot that thing?" Hanna asked.

Nadine gave her an incredulous look. "I barely know how to use this, you want me to make that shot?"

Hanna made a face. "Alright. I will."

She pulled herself onto a branch and ran. It was hard to make her out amongst tree, but when she saw her again, Nadine could tell that there was another Keyblade with her. The same Keyblade that Sora and Dani used, but it was still new to her. And when she swung, magic formed around her. Magic that probably did more than the actual physical attack.

That was all they needed. The Heartless' tail stopped as it fell to the ground. Darkness it the ground before the body did.

No one said anything for a minute, not even Dani or Hanna as they got there. Not even Chip and Dale.

Dani cleared her throat first. "So, uh…looks like we kick butt, right?"

Nadine wasn't sure.  _Just what was going on here?_

* * *

"What did you say this man looked like again?"

Dani had no other way to describe him other than a vague motion around her head to represent antlers. Leon nodded sagely.

"He spoke a lot about death and suffering and release from suffering..." Nadine said. "He wasn't talking to us, that's for sure."

"What do you think? He was already dead?" Leon asked.

"That would make a lot of sense." Katie said. "He talked about death and suffering and release from suffering  _a lot."_

Leon hummed in thought. He tugged a leg a bit closer to him, almost defensively. "I haven't heard of a Heartless every  _delaying_  their turning. If it's true, it can't be good."

"If you think he was dead to begin with," Aerith spoke up. "Then maybe what you saw was just his ghost."

Leon scoffed. "Ghosts don't exist."

"We travel the universe with a dog and a duck, I'll believe anything at this point." Dani said.

"Considering my previous employer, I would not rule ghosts out just yet."

All turned towards the new voice.

"Mr. Moody Pants!" cried the four girls.

"Cloud?" asked the adults in the room.

"Does nobody say 'hello' in this great big universe?" Katie asked.

Cloud shifted under the attention.

"It's good to see you again, Cloud." Aerith said. "Tea?"

"Didn't think you would show up here again." Leon said, just a hint of venom in his tone.

"I'm not here on a personal visit." Cloud replied. "I have a message."

* * *

"It took me forever to find you, Sora."

It was Riku. Save for the sword in his hand, it looked like he hadn't changed at all since they left the island. Still, Sora wanted to make sure…

"Hey, cut that out!" Riku swatted Sora's hand away from his cheeks.

"Wow! You're for really real, Riku!"

The joy was short lived as Sora looked behind him. "Wait, where's Kairi?"

"I thought she was with you." Riku answered.

Riku seemed to sense Sora's disappointment, because he patted Sora on the shoulder. "Relax. She probably made it off the island too. We'll be together soon."

Sora peered over Riku's shoulder. It was just a glimpse of a shadow.

"Just leave it all to me and-" Riku continued, then froze. He sensed it too.

Well, he might as well show off.

Sora jumped past Riku and took care of the Heartless in one single sweep. Riku barely had enough time to turn around before the Heart was released.

Sora posed dramatically. "Leave it to who now?"

"Sora...what did you-"

"Hey, I've learned a few tricks along the way!" Sora said. "With the help of my buddies here!"

"A-hyuck! That's right!" Goofy chimed in. "Sora's one of the Keyblade Masters!"

Sora's confidence faltered. "Hey, you didn't have to tell him there was more than one."

"So this is a Keyblade..." Riku said. There was something different in his tone, but Sora couldn't quite place what it was. It was probably just confusion.

It was then that Sora realized the Keyblade wasn't in his hands.

Riku hummed in thought as he inspected the Keyblade. Eventually, he wrinkled his nose. "Catch."

Sora barely did. He could hear Donald and Goofy mumbling behind him, but he didn't care. "You're coming with us, right? We've got this awesome ship! And...things might be a little cramped but I'm sure we can find room for you!"

"Sora!" Donald squawked. "You just cant' invite people on board!"

"Oh relax! Riku's my friend! Right Riku?"

Sora turned back. Riku was gone.

"Riku?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Author's Note: I've never found a version of Tarzan that I've really liked, which is a shame because I love classic adventure novels. The Disney movie probably comes close to me, but that also may be more of a nostalgia thing.
> 
> Anyway, the plot thickens. The character's power ups are based on Drive forms. Nadine is Wisdom, Katie is Valor, and Hanna is Master form. Why didn't Dani or Sora get any? We'll get to that. Our new character, if you could not tell, is Seymour from Final Fantasy X. If you haven't seen anything from that game, I recommend you give him a good Google search because he is quite silly-looking. He'll be playing a much bigger role down the line.


	6. About Two Arabian Nights

The sloshing noise of walking through water filled the caverns of the sewer system.

"Yoo-hoo!" Yuffie's voice echoed through the walls, too cheerful to ever be perceived as menacing. "We're back!"

She appeared in the gateway, followed closely by Sora, Donald and Goofy. She stopped as she realized that, however cold the sewer was, it was a lot colder around the table.

"Wassup?" Yuffie said. "You're even gloomier than usual. And that's saying a lot."

She hopped over the fence without a second's thought. Sora looked surprised for only a fraction of a second, and settled for breaking it open with his Keyblade.

"Maleficent's in town." Cloud repeated his message.

Yuffie's demeanor broke almost instantly, which told Dani that something was really wrong.

"Cloud?" Sora asked. "How did you get here?"

"I have my ways." Cloud said, not so much as cryptically as much as he didn't want to get into it.

Dani looked up from her tea. "No, seriously, how  _did_  you get here? Cause  _we_  have a spaceship and..."

"That's not important right now." Leon said. "We need to focus on Maleficent."

"Right!" Katie said. "And...who is she?"

"She's a witch!" Cid snapped. "And things that rhyme with that that I can't say in front of you kids!"

"She is the one that controls the Heartless." Aerith said more helpfully. "We lost our world, thanks to her."

"Oh." Dani said.

The sewers, if possible, grew colder. Dani shifted in her seat as she tried to think of something, anything that could fix the problem.

"Hey, Miss Aerith, this tea is great!"

It didn't work.

"It's possible she's looking for Ansem's research." Leon said. "But we haven't had those for years."

"Sorry, who is Ansem?" Sora asked.

"He was our ruler," Aerith said. "Back in the word we had before Traverse Town. He dedicated his life to studying the Heartless. If anyone knows any weaknesses, it's him."

"We lost them when the world was destroyed." Leon said, bitterness thick in his tone. "She probably has most of them back."

"Well, then let's get them back!"

All heads turned to Dani.

"Why not?" She continued and stood from her seat. Cid's eye twitched, but she couldn't figure out why until much later. "It can't be too hard!"

"Right!" Sora said.

They continued to stare at her, as if she had grown a second head, grown a third head, and the third head ate the other. Still, Dani didn't flinch.

Finally, Cloud broke his gaze. He buried his face lower into his cowl. "I don't know why I expected anything different from you seven."

Dani thought that was a compliment. She took it as one, at least.

* * *

"I don't know. I mean, she's perfect, you know? Why would she want to go out with someone like me?"

"Well, if you keep putting her on a pedestal like that, definitely not." Katie said.

"She's right." Nadine continued. "If you keep thinking she's some unattainable goddess or something, you're never going to get enough courage to ask her out."

"Yeah..." The man said. "Yeah, yeah! You're right! Thanks! It means a lot to get that off my chest."

"No problem!" Donald said. "Now, can you GET US OUT OF THIS QUICKSAND!"

The man's eyes shot wide open as he realized the situation.

"Oh! Sorry!"

Just as the sand was going up to Katie's chin, the man dug out an oddly shaped lamp from his pockets.

"Come on out Genie, and save these guys from the quicksand!"

Sparks of blue and smoke spilled from the tip, forming a great creature.

"AND A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO TODAY'S CONTESTANT,  _A-LA-DDIN!_  RUB-A-DUB-DUB OF THE LAMP AND HAVE YOUR DEEPEST WISH GRANTED!"

"WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR INTRODUCTION!" Dani shouted before her mouth was filled with sand.

"Oh, alright!" The creature sighed.

It snapped its fingers, and Katie found herself collapsed on the very solid ground.

"Thanks," Sora said as he scrambled back to his feet. "You're a life saver."

"You're lucky we came by when we did." Aladdin said. "Caravans almost never come out this far."

"Yeah," Nadine said. "What were you doing out here again?"

"It wasn't entirely optional." Aladdin said. "But hey, I managed to get this pretty cool lamp out of it."

"Not to mention the prize  _inside."_  The blue creature said. "Anyone of your deepest desires granted; three wishes courtesy of the one and only, GENIE OF THE LAMP!"

It leaned in close to Goofy, but Katie could make out the words anyway. "Somerestrictionsapplyofferwhilesupplieslast."

Maybe Katie imagined it, but she thought she saw its eyes light up a little when she and the others laughed.

"So you're a djinni?" Nadine asked.

"No, didn't ya hear me, kid? G-E-N-I-E." The djinni said. Letters appeared next to him as he wrote it.

"Yeah, but djinni is spelled D-J-I-N-N-I in a Latin alphabet." Katie said.

"Yes, but that's not my name."

"So you're a djinni named Genie?" Sora asked.

"Sure, let's work with that!" Genie said.

The djinni shifted the nebulous blob it had of a body to sprout a second head, and turned its attention to Aladdin. "So, what'll be wish number 2?"

Aladdin hummed in thought. "Well, you said I could have any wish I wanted?"

Genie shifted again getting rid of his second head.

"But of course! Well, you can't force anyone to love yourself, and  _ooh_ —whatever God you believe in help you if you try to wish for infinite power-"

"No love..." Aladdin mumbled. "Well, let me think about it for a minute."

"Not a problem!" Genie said. "Gives me more time to enjoy this fresh Agrabah air!"

Katie wasn't an expert, but she could tell that the fresh Agrabah air smelled a lost like camel poop and felt a lot like dying. "Don't get out much?" She asked.

" _Oi_ , kid, I'm lucky if I get out every century or so." Genie said.

"Sounds rough." Sora said.

"No kidding. INFINITE COSMIC POWER! Itty bitty living space. Completely at the mercy of whatever smuck finds the lamp. Like you, Al."

Aladdin tilted his head in thought. "Well, what if I fixed that?"

Genie, for the first time in possibly his life, froze. "What?"

"Can't I use my last wish to set you free?"

"A-Al...you would really do that for me?"

"Sure. But let's focus first. For my second wish, I want you to make me a wealthy prince!"

"You've got it!"

* * *

"Alright, alright, Prince Ali is getting' ready for his walk down downtown Agrabah! LET'S DO ROLL CALL! 75 golden camels, 150 golden camel carriers, 53 peacocks, 10 peacock gurls, 95 white Persian monkeys, 95 white Persian monkey carriers, 60 elephants, 10 drum camels, 24 bell carriers, 18 swordsmen—CAREFUL WITH THEM SWORDS!-5 dancers the original animators had a little too much fun with, 12 flag carriers, 4 fanning gurls, 12 carriers manning the giant gorilla balloon, 20 guys ta carry the needless plates of riches, 3 llamas, 3 bears, 3 lions, 6-piece brass band, 40 fakirs, 3 cooks, 2 bakers, 4 bird carriers, 40 tropical birds who warble on key...alright that's all of us! Ya sure this is necessary, kid?"

"Of course!" Aladdin said. "Gotta impress her somehow."

"Yeah and nothing impresses a girl more than needless plates of riches." Genie muttered under his breath.

However, Genie was not going to break character that easily. It was too long since he was able to practice in front of an audience, and even if the kid from fantasy land Persia would not recognize a modern worker from Queens, he wasn't going to lose his chance.

"Alright then! Just like we practiced, people! Abu, you're an elephant now,  _act like one._  LET'S MOVE OUT!"

* * *

Aladdin left the palace with a grim look on his face. The once proud Ali Abagwa now stood with his shoulders hunched in and his eyes cast to his feet. It was easy to remember him now as someone who wished for all these riches.

"So," Katie said in a near sing-song, smiling widely. "How'd it go?"

"Terrible." Aladdin said. "She hates me."

Genie conjured up two office chairs and a long plush couch. Aladdin flopped head first onto the couch, not at all concerned that it was not there two seconds ago. Hanna, sensing where this was going, left her game of chess to sit on the second chair.

"Now then, Mr. Din," Genie spoke in a thick German accent. For just a second, he changed his form to have a white beard, balding hair, and thick glasses. "Tell me about your mother."

"Oh,  _she_  has nothing to do with it." Aladdin said with a dejected laugh. He rolled over onto his back, so he was watching the sky. "Jasmine doesn't want to talk to me. Apparently she hates the rich princely type."

"So this was completely pointless?" Hanna asked.

"How else was I supposed to talk to her?" Aladdin asked. "Only a prince can marry a princess."

"Wait, this was about marriage?" Nadine asked. "How often have you talked to her, again?"

Aladdin legitimately had to think about it. "Twice?"

"Don't think too much about it. These things always happen here." Genie whispered in close to her ear.

Hanna wasn't sure if she wanted to believe him.

"Listen, Al." Genie said. "I'm gonna put this as simply as I can."

He removed the therapist décor, causing Aladdin and Hanna to fall. He conjured up a chalkboard, already written on, and graduate cap for himself.

"Tell, her, the," He read along. He flipped over the chalkboard, where a neon sign hung. "TRUTH!"

"What, and make her hate me even more?" Aladdin said. He beat the illusion away with his hat. "She's never going to fall for some... _street rat_  like me. She'd laugh at me."

"And what's wrong with that?" Genie asked. He morphed his face onto Aladdin's hat. "Who doesn't appreciate a little bit of humor in a guy? Look at me!"

"He has a point!" Hanna said. "And if you do marry her—which is very unlikely and kinda dangerous—but it you do, you're going to have to be honest with her eventually. Why don't you try to be yourself?"

"That's the last person I want to be." Aladdin said.

Hanna didn't know what to say to that. Neither did Genie, apparently. The flying carpet might have, but he wasn't equipped to do so.

"I'm heading out." Aladdin said. "Try to make another impression on her. How do I look?"

Genie sighed. "Princely."

That was exactly what Aladdin was looking to hear. It wasn't what he needed.

Aladdin flew off on the magic carpet. The two left waited until he was just out of sight.

"He's an idiot." Genie said definitely.

"I'm rooting for him." Hanna said defensively.

"Oh no kidding, he's the best master I've had in the last 500 years by  _boy_  does he need some serious help with the ladies." Genie said.

"Well, why don't you try to stop him?" Hanna asked.

"Kid, there's a hierarchy to all this.  _Master_  makes his three wishes, _I_  grant them. No room in-between for debating or interfering." Genie said. "Now, do I have any relationship expert impressions? Ruth Westheimer, maybe? Nah, too obscure…"

"Okay, why do you keep doing that?" Dani finally asked.

"What, my impressions?" Genie asked.

"Yeah! You're from this world, so why do you know so much about Earth pop culture?" Dani continued.

"And while we're on the topic," Nadine continued. "Are other worlds like Earth, or are we just projecting?"

Genie shifted. "Well, you see kids-"

"Guys!" Sora burst through the palace gates. "We have Heartless trouble!"

"Oh thank Allah a distraction!" Genie said. In a rush, he conjured up an entire 100-piece Civil War-era cavalry. "TALLY HO!"

* * *

_Nice of you to come._

_Ugh…I'm going to die anyway._

_I won't have to be afraid anymore._

_But I'm not going to die alone. You're all coming with me!_

His skin was white as snow. Tendrils of muscle fibers covered his body and held him in place. Yet he still looked humanoid. A chill ran down Dani's back when she saw him, the same kind she saw when she saw the other mysterious Heartless.

It was another ghost Heartless.

Hanna looked around the crowded streets of Agrabah. "Maybe this isn't the best place to get involved in a fight to the death—"

The ghost Heartless raised his hand, and a set of fireballs hurled themselves towards the group. Dani and Sora jumped up and batted them back.

"Do you think any of you can use your cool Keyblade bonus powers?" Sora asked.

Katie thought for a minute, summoning her other keyblade and batting another fireball back.

"Yeah we're good!"

More spells came flying their way. Spells that weren't quite fire and weren't quite Darkness, but looked and acted enough like it that Dani did not care for specifics. Hanna raised her Keyblades and reflected them back.

"I'm going to try and get close." Nadine said. "It shouldn't be too hard if I hover like before."

"I'll keep you covered." Hanna said.

It took Nadine few steps before the magic took effect and lifted her off her feet. Hanna ran right beside her, blocking the incoming magic spells with her Keyblades and her shield.

"And what do we do?" Dani asked.

Katie looked around the narrow streets of Agrabah. "I have an idea!"

She jumped onto the awnings covering the shops. It bounced under her, giving her enough of a boost to get onto the building's roof. The others followed.

Katie jumped from rooftop to rooftop, until she stood just above the ghost Heartless. She jumped down, dragging both of her Keyblades through the thing's face. Dani came next. Sora was right behind her.

Dani caught herself on the next awning. It gave under her weight like a trampoline. It let her bounce back and attack the ghost again. The others followed suit.

The ghost Heartless tried to bat them away with more spells, but it was hard for him to focus with three humans in front of his face and stabbing him in the eyes. He hardly noticed the other humans and the large Fire spell they sent straight towards him.

When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

"That was quick." Katie said. She remained bouncing on the awning, unsure of where to go from there.

"Let's be thankful for that." Nadine said. "The less time we spend in a life-or-death battle, the better."

Katie hummed in thought. Her jumping didn't stop.

"Oh!" She called. "Hi Donald! Hi Goofy! Where were you guys!"

Donald was only momentarily distracted by the destruction caused by the magic. Goofy hardly noticed it, and gave Katie a wave.

"Never mind!" Donald said, mostly to himself. To the rest of the group, he said "Genie's gone missing!"

* * *

"My first wish, djinni, show me the Keyhole!"

"Hey, Al, what's the big deal, I thought we agreed on the last wi-" Genie froze as he saw who he was talking to. "Oops. Uh...wrong guy."

* * *

By some miracle, the magic carpet had managed to drag all nine of them through the desert toward the opening of the Cave of Wonders.

It was kind of hard to miss.

"Key-bearers...Diamond in the rough..." A booming voice came out of the mouth-shaped opening. "You know why you are here. Save the Princess, and seal the Keyhole.  _Take nothing but the lamp_."

The cave opened wider, allowing the passage.

"Wow." Katie said. " _Our_  caves don't talk to us. And they're much less impressive. The best we have is that mountain carving shaped like a bear in California."

"Let's not waste any time." Aladdin said as he led the group.

The second Dani took a step into the Cave, it became clear that it was big. It was a lot bigger than the opening gave it credit for. However, it also appeared very small due to how much stuff was in it. Piles upon piles of gold and treasure were stacked through the cave, reaching as high as the ceiling. Only a few small paths had been carved out through the floor.

And it stretched on for literal miles.

"She could be anywhere at this point!" Donald complained.

"This way!" Sora called. He was already halfway through a path.

"Where are you going?" Dani asked.

"I don't know why...but I know to go this way!" Sora said. "I think they Keyblade might be telling me!"

"Well I also have a Keyblade and I have no idea what you're talking about!" Nadine called after.

Sora turned over his shoulder. He was giving them a look. On any other person, it would look almost childish. Sora, precious ray of sunlight incarnate, on the other hand…

They ran off after him. The Cave of Wonders turned out to be even bigger than the last room, alternating between rooms of treasure, rooms full of death traps, and both. Just as Dani was beginning to doubt Sora, she started to hear something.

Maniacal laughter. "Excellent work, Genie! If you keep this up, we can rule the world together!"

Genie muttering under his breath.

"Why Jafar, are you intending to strike out on your own?" This voice was a lot different. Feminine. Cold. Sinister. Dani fought the feeling of the hairs on the back of her neck rising.

"A-ah! Maleficent! I was only-"

"Try me. I can easily find a replacement for you."

Very awkward silence followed.

"Never mind. I'm taking the Princess."

They were getting close now. Dani turned the corner, and found herself in another room. Three people—or at least one person, one djinni, and someone... _thing_  else—stood at the far end of the room, right in front of a large Keyhole.

"Where's Jasmine, Jafar?" Aladdin demanded.

Jafar sneered. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that." His attention turned to the... _person_  standing next to him.

Genie conjured up as many neon signs and arrows as he could to point toward the jar.

"Wait a sec..." Sora said. "You're Maleficent, aren't you?"

The person sneered towards them. In a blink of an eye, she and the jar beside her were gone.

"Djinni!" Jafar turned his attention towards Genie. In a flash, the arrows disappeared, and Genie whistled inconspicuously. "Crush these sewer rats for me!"

"That's a terrible waste of a wish!" Katie said.

"Sorry kids." For the first time, Genie was unnaturally quite. "The one with the lamp calls the shots."

Genie grew. The big hall suddenly became very small as it was filled with all-powerful djinni. Power and magic crackled about Dani, causing her to grip her Keyblade a bit more.

"ALRIGHT, FIRST BLAST OF LIGHTNING COMING THAT WAY!"

Genie pointed vaguely. A bolt of lightning hit nothing.

"OAKIE DOKIE, NEXT BLAST COMING TO YOUR...RIGHT!"

Katie had to jump out of the way of that one, but just barely.

"NEXT UP, ON YOUR LEFT!"

That one hit Goofy dead on. Nobody worried, because they knew he would be okay.

"What are you doing, djinni!" Jafar demanded.

"Why, sir, I'm fighting them just like you asked." Genie said casually.

"That is not  _fighting_! If you won't fight them, Djinni..."

Jafar seemed to think to himself. His eyes lit up in a wonderful, awful idea. "Djinni! My last wish! Make me an all-powerful djinni just like you!"

Genie made a face Dani couldn't read at Jafar. He and Aladdin exchanged a look.

"Yes." Aladdin and Katie said in near unison. "Do that."

"You've got it, Master!" Genie said. He snapped his fingers.

The power Genie had imposed was nothing compared to Jafar's. The air grew thick with magic. Red smoke filled the room, sending sparks flying erratically at them. Through shadows, Dani saw Jafar's body shift; from one of bone and blood to one of magic and smoke. He grew, nearly twice the size of what Genie had been at his most menacing. Dani felt the Keyblade slip from her grasp, too afraid and distracted to keep it summoned. The djinni laughed manically. The room shook with the vibrations of his voice.

"NOW YOU'LL ALL SEE….JUST HOW-"

Aladdin dove to grab the newly formed black lamp that had appeared in the confusion. The smoke, including the djinni inside, was pulled inside. And in seconds, all signs that Jafar had been there at all were gone.

"The one with the lamp calls the shots, Jafar." Aladdin said.

"Well that was anticlimatic." Dani grumbled.

"Hey! Gift horse! Mouth! Less time we spend in a battle to the death the better!" Nadine said.

Genie snatched the lamp from Aladdin's grasp. "Man, I've never been more happy to get rid of a master than that one! I'm gonna take this lamp and...BURY IT! IT'LL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!"

Dani watched Genie conjure up some gardening supplies for himself for a minute before she realized the room was now being filled with a bright golden light.

"Sora!" Donald called. "The Keyhole!"

"Right!"

Sora turned toward the large keyhole at the end of the building. A tip of light expelled from his keyblade. A soft click noise filled the air.

Then the room started shaking.

"What's going on?" Katie asked.

"The Cave doesn't like to stay open for too long." Genie said. "The whole thing's gonna collapse in on itself!"

"Then let's not  _talk about_  it and get out of here!" Nadine shouted.

Ten people scrambled to the magic carpet. That left Aladdin.

"Al, did you not notice the building's about to fall apart?"

"Jasmine's still missing!" Aladdin said. "I don't want to leave without her!"

"Aladdin, she's gone!" Dani replied. "You're not going to find her here!"

" _I have to try!"_

"She's probably on a different world by now! If you stay here, all you'll find is death!"

Aladdin froze. Dani only kind of realize what she was saying but was distracted by the bits of ceiling falling out of the ground. Genie settled on grabbing Aladdin by the collar and snapping his fingers.

* * *

The next breath Dani took was one of fresh Agrabah air. They were back in the desert, just as the sun was rising up. All eleven of them watched in silence as the Cave of Wonders closed its mouth and submerged itself in the sand again.

Genie broke the silence first. "Congratulations Katie, you got your first wish of not dying."

"Hooray!" Katie said.

"What do you mean she's on another world?" Aladdin asked. It took Dani a minute to realize his attention was on her.

"Way to go." Donald said.

Dani opened her mouth to defend herself to Donald, but thought better of it. "About what I said, honestly. Maleficent probably took her to another world. We can try and find her for you, but..."

"Take me with you! Let me look for her with you!" Aladdin said.

Dani tried to avoid making eye contact on that one.

"We can't." Donald said for her. "We're already interfering enough as is."

Aladdin took a shaky breath. His shoulders slumped. Dani was fairly certain that if she didn't do something now, he would start crying on her.

Fortunately, she didn't need to. Genie got back up and hovered closer to Aladdin. "Earth to Al? You still have one last wish!"

"But I thought-"

"Hey." Genie's cheery disposition hadn't faded, but the smile seemed unnaturally forced. "Just say the word, Al. Ask me to find Jasmine for you."

Aladdin was lost in thought. After what felt like a very long time, he picked the lamp back up again.

"Alright. Genie...I wish for your freedom!"

"Alright, snap of the fingers and—wait what?"

Magic swirled about him again. Blue smoke filled Dani's line of vision, obscuring Genie from view. Unlike Jafar, however, this felt almost pleasant. They were breezes in the otherwise scorching desert. The magic flashed, and the smoke faded…

All that had changed about Genie was his gauntlets were gone and he now had legs.

"Al!" He exclaimed.

"Hey! A deal's a deal!" Aladdin said.

Genie looked to be at a loss for words. He settled on pulling Aladdin in a tight hug.

"Ah, heck! All of ya! Group hug!"

The group hug was crushing but Dani couldn't feel quite bad about it.

"Oh man, do I have a multiverse I wanna explore!" Genie said. "Sorry Katie, but you're two wishes are up! I serve no man!"

"Dangit…" Katie mumbled.

"Don't worry about it kid." Genie said. He took the lamp from Aladdin and handed it to Genie. "That place's still my home, you know? Whenever you feel like you need the help of an all-powerful djinni, just give me a little rub and I'll come running!"

Genie continued to ramble about his trip preparations, but Dani didn't listen. Her eyes were on Katie as she carefully pulled out crumbled pieces of paper from the lid.

"The Reports of Ansem the Wise…" She read aloud.

* * *

"How are you feeling?"

He was pretty sure that was meant to be a rhetorical question. Nobody answered, at any rate.

"It's pitch black in here. Why don't you turn on the lights?"

"I feel more comfortable in the dark." The other one in the room said.

He shrugged. If it made the other comfortable, he could bear it.

"I see...then are you ready to become a member of our team?"

That one really did not want to be answered.

He decided to speak. "I'm just here to find my sisters. If you can help me do that...then sure."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Author's Note: Aladdin will always be one of my favorite Disney movies. What really sold it to me was that my copy came with the Diamond in the Rough special feature; a 2 hour long panel with the animators of the film talking about how the movie was made and the animation process. If you are an animation buff, try and hunt it down. It is absolutely worth the watch.
> 
> Cid just wants you to sit your ass down and drink your goddamn tea. Why won't you listen to him?


	7. There Be Whales Here

There was not really a night on the Gummi Ship. The Gummi Ship constantly moved through space, and time was always different on each world. However, there was a universally acknowledged bed time, just as soon they had gotten off of one world and Donald was able to set a course for the next one.

Just because their bed time was set up by exhaustion didn't mean that insomnia didn't exist on the Gummi Ship.

Hanna curled up in the copilot's chair. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep on the ship, but she hadn't been comfortable sleeping since she got on the ship. Let alone the fact she was in a small vehicle with six other people, she had no pajamas, what blankets there were worn and thin, and there was only one bed for all seven of them. That, and there was an overwhelming sense of panic and fear just being on the ship. Not to mention, the adrenaline boosts she got whenever she even stepped off on the ship. And the realiziation she kept pushing back that everything she knew was gone…

The point was, Hanna couldn't sleep.

She adjusted the privacy curtain between the pilot and passenger's sides of the ship. If she couldn't sleep, than she should do something productive with her time. She had the fortune of having her backpack with her the entire trip, but that only had so many books, and you can only read about the Pythagorean Theorem so many times before you wanted to scream.

Screaming, in the middle of the night, in the middle of space, was ill advised.

Instead, she grabbed Genie's lamp and the papers found inside. The papers were crinkled and old, and Hanna worried that if she applied too much pressure to any spot the whole thing would turn to dust. The handwriting was unbearably neat, thick cursive in thicker ink. Still, Hanna read on.

**It is my duty to expose what this darkness really is. I shall conduct the following experiments:**   **Extract the darkness from a person's heart.**   **Cultivate darkness in a pure heart.** **Both suppress and amplify the darkness within.**   **The experiments caused the test subject's heart to collapse, including those of the most stalwart. How fragile our hearts are! My treatment produced no signs of recovery. I confined those who had completely lost their hearts beneath the castle.**   **Some time later, I went below and was greeted by the strangest sight. Creatures that seemed born of darkness...What are they? Are they truly sentient beings? Could they be the shadows of those who lost their hearts in my experiments?**   **The shadows that crawl beneath the castle... Are they the people who lost their hearts, or incarnations of darkness? Or something entirely beyond my imagination?**   **All my knowledge has provided no answer. One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the heart.**   **Fortunately, there is no shortage of test samples. They are multiplying underground even as I write this report. They still need a name. Those who lack hearts... I will call them the Heartless.**   **The Heartless appear in groups, and are multiplying rapidly. I've provided them both living and nonliving samples. They've responded only to the living. They seem to multiply after absorbing something from the living creatures. Their prey vanishes without a trace.**   **I believe the Heartless are taking hearts. They are born from those who've lost their hearts, and thrive on hearts seized from others. The hearts taken by the Heartless become Heartless themselves.**   **Though I lack proof, I am confident in this hypothesis. I must also study their behavioral principles. Though they lack emotions, they do seem to have some intelligence. How to communicate with them?**   **It's just occurred to me: Could they be the darkness in people's hearts?**  

The rustling of the privacy curtain behind her startled Hanna out of the text. Sora sat down on the pilot's chair next to her.

"Can't sleep either?" Hanna asked, not looking up.

Sora shrugged. "I was thinking about Jasmine...and Kairi."

Hanna tensed, and nodded. "We did what we could. Now we should just try our best to do more of that."

"I don't know if my best is good enough." Sora said. "I mean, look at you!"

Hanna blinked.

"You've never wielded a sword in your life before, and now you can do three with ease! Or Katie, or Nadine! I just have the one. And I'm not all that great with it." Sora said.

"If I could get rid of my Keyblade powers and give them to you, _I would."_

"You don't like it?" Sora asked.

"I haven't liked it since day 1. I just want to go back home."

There was silence again.

"Did you turn off the auto-pilot?" Sora asked.

It was so casually said, it took Hanna a minute to realize how dangerous the notion was. "What?"

"The auto-pilot's off. Did you turn it off?"

"No!"

No sooner were the words out of her mouth when the ship shook. Hanna and Sora glanced up.

Against all rational thought, the first thing out of Hanna's mouth was "Is that a blue whale?"

* * *

This was the third time the Gummi Ship had crashed since Katie had first stepped on it. It was quite the resilient little ship.

"I didn't touch anything, I swear!" Sora said. "There was just this...huge whale!"

"In space?" Donald asked, suspicion as thick in his voice as his lisp.

Katie was the first one out of the Gummi Ship. She regretted it almost instantly. The floor was soft and squishy, making it hard for her to hold her balance. The walls were made of a similar material. Wet noises sounded under her shoes, making her feel nauseous. The way the floor pushed against her confirmed her suspicions: whatever she was standing on was alive.

Something fell close to her head, causing Katie to jump. A treasure chest, recently looted, now sat at her feet.

"So if there was a whale, where is it now?"

Goofy was the second one out. He confirmed Katie's theory. "I think that whale just swallowed us up."

He swung his shield up, just in time to block another falling treasure chest.

"Thanks." She said to Goofy. "Knock it off up there!" She said to whoever was throwing it.

They responded by throwing another one.

The floor shifted and shifted some more as the others left the Gummi Ship.

"What's going on?" Nadine asked.

"We're expecting showers." Goofy said.

Another treasure chest fell. This time Goofy didn't get a chance to block it. It collided with his head before tumbling to the floor.

" _Heavy_  showers." Goofy added, nonplussed.

"You're made of steel, aren't you?" Katie asked. "Like, not even in a metaphorical sense; you're just solid metal, aren't you?"

"Garwsh," Goofy said. "Pete always told me I had a thick skull, but..."

"Who's up there, anyway!" Donald interrupted.

"It's me!" A voice chimed from above the ledge.

"Oh, it's just Pinocchio." Donald said. "Wait, Pino-"

"Pinocchio!"

Jiminy Cricket crawled out of Sora's hair. "Hey! Pinnoch! What are you doing? Pinnochio, come back here! Gepetto won't like this!"

"I'm off to find father right now!" Pinocchio called. He sounded very far away.

"What! Why you—come back here!" The cricket scampered off.

"You know him?" Katie asked.

"Only though Jiminy." Donald said. "But come on. He might be out only chance out of here."

Katie looked about her. There were the ledges, but they were a bit too high to climb up. There was the floor, which was too hard to climb about on. The only thing they could cross through was a body of water, the origin of which Katie could not quite identify.

"Gross..."

* * *

To nobody's surprise, Pinocchio wasn't holding up for Jiminy.

This was perfect! He had all the pieces he needed now! All he had to do was take it back to Father and-

He froze as he caught something out of the corner of his eye. There were  _more_  people in Monstro. He only caught a glimpse of them, but he knew for a fact it was not someone he recognized. Even worse, he was entered one of the stomach chambers.

That wasn't good. Even without the Heartless, it was dangerous to explore around Monstro.

Well, a quick detour wouldn't hurt. Besides, helping people was a good thing, right? Jiminy couldn't judge him for that!

* * *

The interior of Monstro turned out to be very stable. Sure, it was still a living breathing organism, but nothing seemed to be passed along to lower digestive systems. This included a whole house. Admittedly, it wasn't as much a house as it was a fort, with only a few pieces of furniture made of remnants of ships. There was no denying, however, it was lived in. It had been lived in. For a while.

"Oh, hello there!" The houses' occupant said once he saw them. "Have you seen my son?"

"That depends. What does he look like?" Nadine asked.

"Let's see…he's about this tall, black hair, blue eyes, big nose…oh, and he was wearing the lederhosen I made for him." The man said. "Oh, and he's also made of wood."

"It's a good thing we've already met him or else I'd think you're crazy." Nadine said. "But he said he was running off to find his father."

"He was? Oh dear...he might have gotten lost in one of the stomach chambers." The man said. "He's been helping me build a ship to get us out of here."

He gestured behind him to a Gummi Ship, mostly finished.

"We can help with that!" Donald said.

"Yeah!" Goofy added. "We've learned to always keep some extra gummi parts on the ship!"

The man's eyes lit up. "You would? Oh, thank you, thank you! We have been in this beast for far too long!"

"How long?" Hanna asked.

"What year is it?" The man answered.

"How about we go look for Pinnochio for you?" Dani asked. "We needed to go find our cricket anyway."

"Cricket?  _Jiminy_  Cricket?" The man said. "Well, at least I know he won't get into trouble by his own hand…but do be careful in there. Even without the Heartless, they're a bit tricky to navigate."

"Relax." Dani said as she summoned her Keyblade. "We're heroes."

* * *

"This place is gross and I don't want to be here anymore." Dani realized.

"Where even are we?" Nadine asked. "Do whales usually have more stomach chambers than this?"

"If they do, I don't think they're usually a labyrinth like this is." Dani said.

More Heartless materialized.

"Well that can't be good for this thing's digestive system." Dani said.

* * *

"So how do you think this thing functions?" Katie said. "Because I'm not a marine biologist, but I generally don't think whales generally have ready to climb platforms around its stomach."

"I also don't think they fly in space and eat things that aren't krill, let alone at least two ships full of people." Hanna said.

"Hm. Maybe you have a point." Katie slowed down as she looked down another corridor. "Do whales generally have Heartless inside them as well?"

"What?"

Sora and Hanna rushed to her side as fast as they could without bouncing around the stomach. They looked through the corridor. There was another chamber, occupied primarily by stomach acid and one big Heartless. It was shaped like a pumpkin, with a body composed of bars. Tendrils waved behind it. Someone sat inside it.

"Uh…" Pinocchio said from within. "Help?"

"Interesting, isn't it?" A voice spoke.

"Riku?" Sora asked.

That was Riku? Katie's eyes shot upward as a figure perched on one of the platforms above. White hair, evil-looking smirk, and eyes that glistened with dark…Katie didn't like him.

"Interesting, isn't it." Riku asked. "A puppet with a Heart. Too bad he's going to lose it."

"The proper response to that is  _hi_ , by the way." Katie said.

Riku gave her a look and she suddenly regretted speaking up. "Still trying to make new friends instead of helping your old ones?"

"I'm not replacing you, Riku." Sora said defensively. "And what are you talking about anyway?"

Riku let out barely a breath. A scoff, Katie realized. Half of one, at least.

"Maybe your new friends can help you with this." He said. He vanished, tendrils of Darkness snapping where his feet were supposed to be.

The Heartless chose that moment to move. Its tendrils shot towards the three. Hanna moved first, jumping out of the way and summoning her two Keyblades.

"Can somebody please take care of this unattended child?" Hanna said over the chaos.

Katie summoned her Keyblades and jumped in. It took some effort, but she managed to pry the bars open enough for Pinocchio to crawl through them.

"Sora, can you make sure he gets back to his dad?" She asked.

Sora hesitated for just a moment, before leading Pinocchio out. He looked oddly…hurt. Why, though?

Katie stopped thinking about it as she was nearly chucked into stomach acid.

* * *

"I think Hanna would say that that's a ship for ants." Sora said. He would have said the Gummi ship in front of him was as big as his shoes, but that also wasn't exactly a fair measurement.

"It's much bigger on the inside." Gepetto said.

"And we're going to be towing them to Traverse Town anyway." Donald said. "Now, are you ready to go?"

Sora was about to say yes, but he stopped as he his hair being pulled.

"Can you lower me down, please?" Jiminy asked.

Sora held out a hand. The cricket scrambled down it, and stood firm against Sora's palm. He looked Pinocchio dead in the nose, and straightened himself out.

"Now Pinocchio," Jiminy said. "I've got a very important responsibility to assist the Queen. As such, I will not be able to officially act as your Conscious for a while. But that's no excuse not to be on your best behavior. I know you're capable of great things. Now take care of your father,"

Pinocchio's smiled wobbled, like he wasn't sure if he should be sad that he was leaving Jiminy or happy that he was being praised. "Right!"

"And don't follow strangers who say they're going to make you famous,"

Pinocchio's face dropped at that. "Right."

"And if you any need any help, go find Miss Aerith."

"Right!"

Jiminy looked very proud of himself, and started the climb back up to Sora's head.

"Why Aerith?" Sora asked.

Jiminy made a face. "Leon, Yuffie and Cid are all my friends, but I don't exactly trust them with the care of a little boy."

That was fair. He waited until Jiminy was safe on his scalp before withdrawing his hand.

"Now Dani," Donald stated. He stopped. It looked like it took a considerable amount of effort to say the next part. "You can drive Gepetto's ship."

"Hooray!"

"But don't get any ideas!" He snapped. "That thing's top speed is 11 miles an hour, and we'll be right in front of you!"

Her triumph deflated. "Then what's the point?"

"You at least have some experience seeing how the ship is run, where Gepetto doesn't!"

Gepetto shrugged. "I make toys for a living."

"Jiminy, can you go with them?" Donald asked. "I would feel a lot safer with somebody that has a good head on their shoulders and doesn't take up a whole lot of space inside."

"Well that's my specialty!" Jiminy said.

The groups divided. The ships were loaded. But Sora remained where he was, too lost in thought to move. Dani noticed first.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I dunno." Sora said. "I should have been able to do something."

"What? About Riku?"

"No, just…about everything."

Dani gestured for him to follow her into the ship. He followed. There was room in Gepetto's ship…barely. While their Gummi Ship was about the size of half a room, Gepetto's Gummi ship was about the size of half a boat. Between the five of them, there was barely any room left.

They squeezed in closer to the captain's seat.

"I just feel like I could have done something else. Maybe Riku was right."

"About what?"

"Maybe I can't find Kairi."

_Hypocrite. You are the one who has made your heart a prison._

_All for one and one for all!_

_I must warn you again—the road will not be easy._

_A heart is never lost for good._

_You know, I was gonna come swooping in, Keyblade in hand, but I just couldn't get mine to materialize. Must be in the snap of the wrist or something._

"Well, not with  _that_  attitude."

It snapped Sora out of thoughts he was not aware he was having. He fought to focus back to Dani.

"I mean, c'mon!" Dani said. "You're a Keyblade master! You've travelled through other worlds! Who cares if you don't have as many flashy powers! I think you make up for it in the fact that you're also one of the only ones who actually knows how to wield their sword."

He couldn't argue that one, he realized with a laugh.

"Now, we're gonna go find Kairi, save the King, and prove to the whole universe we're awesome!"

The ship kicked into life and began to fly. And Sora realized she was right.

_He was just as good a Keyblade master as the rest of them._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Author's Note: You know I've never really seen Pinocchio all the way through. Even as a kid I was a lot more interested in the book, which was a lot more morally complex for everyone involved. I like the Disneyland ride?
> 
> So there are feelings I have about Sora and Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance. It's okay if you like it; I personally thought it was a very fun game with a very bad plot. However, these feelings will be shaping the rest of the story, as well as Sora's development from here on. Even if not all of it is in this installment.


	8. In the Undersea Kingdom

In order for the Gummi ship to land, the planet had to have land. The Gummi Ship submerged instead.

"Hanna?" Dani asked. "What color was the Gummi Ship again?"

"What? You know it was yellow."

"And there is a large group of us who have been occupying this vehicle that is submerging, yes?"

"Yes, I—dang it."

"Here's a better question." Nadine interrupted. "Why are we underwater in the first place?"

"About 75% of this planet is water." Donald explained. "We're more likely to find the Keyhole down here."

"Oh geeze, it's a good thing we didn't have to look for the Keyhole on Earth." Katie said. "How are we supposed to explore, then? I don't think the Gummi Ship is too comfortable underwater."

"Just leave that to me!" Donald said.

When Hanna left the Gummi ship next, she had a tail and gills. She supposed it was better than Donald's tentacles.

* * *

"Flounder, look at this! Isn't this the most wonderful thing you've ever seen?"

"Wh-what is it?"

Ariel looked at the device in her hand. It looked like her father's trident, but it was too small and lacked the power that flowed from it. "I'm not sure. I bet Scuttle knows!"

"Alright...let's go find him! And not come back here!" Flounder said.

"Since when have you been such a guppy, Flounder?" Ariel teased.

The answer was always. Flounder had always been a guppy.

Ariel swam a bit further. She probably had a bit more time before the rehearsal, and she didn't want to waste it. There had to be something else she could find in here.

She turned around the corner and found it. It was a vessel, she could tell that much. However, it was boxlike and closed, unlike the shipwreck she was in now. Even without being familiar with how it was built, she could tell that it was in pristine condition.

Voices came out of it. She hid behind the corner, only peeking out of the corners of her eye to see. Mermaids filed out, stumbling as they hit open water. They were followed closely by a merman, and two creatures Ariel couldn't quite recognize. They looked like an octopus and a turtle, but the octopus looked too much like Scuttle on the top and she couldn't quite figure out what was wrong with the turtle.

"Oh." The mermaid with hair nearly as red as Ariel said. She swam about a bit, clearly awkward. "Oh.  _Oh_...how are we supposed to fight Heartless like this?"

"We can't." The one with brown hair tied back said. She folded her arms. "There's just no way."

"There's no need to be so negative about it." The turtle creature said as he swam circles around them. "It's not that hard, once you get used to it!"

"Easy for you to say!" The brown haired mermaid said again. "Let alone Heartless, what if we get chased by a whale, or a-"

"SHARK!" Flounder cried.

All heads turned towards the source, including Ariel's. Discretion forgotten, she charged after Flounder, and came face to face with a Great White Shark.

She grabbed Flounder and tucked him under her arm and swam as fast as she could before it could even think to get close to her. The sounds of bubbles and splashing told her that she wasn't the only one speeding away. The strange mermaids were behind her, flailing wildly in a mimic of a swim. The shark was faster.

Against her better judgment, she slowed herself down and grabbed onto the hand of the nearest stranger—the merman. She pulled. The merman grabbed the closest to him, and so on, until they had formed a neat chain of mercreatures. Exactly as she wanted.

The extra weight of seven people on her tail was tough, but not overwhelming. Ariel sped forward. She didn't dare look, but the noise of the shark bumping into the remains of the ship and demolishing warned her of how close it was to her.

If she couldn't outrun him...she would have to find another way.

Her eyes focused on a circular device in the wreckage. There! She swam through it, and pulled the chain of mermaids with her. Ariel turned, and was met with a full set of teeth.

The shark snapped its jaws and squirmed. It's tail wagged furiously as it realized it was trapped. Flounder swam up to her to blow a raspberry at the shark, and jumped back into Ariel's arm as the shark snapped its jaw again.

"That was close." The mermaid with gold hair said.

"Yeah, no kidding." The mermaid with red hair said. She turned her attention towards the octopus creature. "Let's go underwater, you said! It'll be fine, you said!"

Ariel watched the group banter for a moment as the wheels in her head spun. Finally, she got the courage to speak up. "Excuse me. You're not...mermaids, are you?"

The seven fell silent.

"Wow, we're really bad at this." The gold hair one said.

"Then if you're not mermaids..." Ariel said.

"We're magic users." The octopus shaped one said with a sigh of defeat. "Or at least, I am."

"That is an accurate summary of our abilities, yes." The one with her hair tied back said.

"We came to this world to look for a Keyhole. Since we're not used to being underwater, we had to adapt."

"So you're...from the surface!" Ariel gasped as she realized it. "That means you're human?"

"Well, five humans, a duck and a dog." The one with yellow hair said.

"That's amazing!" Ariel said. Her mind was going too fast for her to really process what she wanted to say. "I've always wanted to meet humans! I've studied you so much—oh! Can you tell me what this is?"

She held out the trident shaped device. The seven stared at it with mild looks of confusion.

"A fork?" The one with red hair said. "Ah—you use it to eat. It's not really all that special."

"Oh, I think it's wonderful! Humans always create so many wonderful things..." Her mind was beginning to slow down, and Ariel was able to process what they had said to her. "You said you were looking for something? How about I help you?"

"We don't want to drag you into this-" The octopus started.

"Nonsense! Nobody knows the ocean better than I do! Let's stop by my grotto first; maybe we can find some information!"

* * *

Ariel's Grotto truly was something to behold. From top to bottom, it was covered in items, no doubt recovered from shipwrecks like the one they had landed it. They ranged from immaculately made and decorated music boxes still full of jewelry that would make some women drool to fountain pens that had long run out of ink. However, it was evident that Ariel had kept them as carefully as she could.

Which was why it was a shame that half the grotto was wrecked now.

"Daddy!" Ariel cried.

The merman that stood in the grotto turned around. Instantly, Dani could tell that he was something important. Power and respect seemed to radiate from him. That and you could grate cheese on those abs…

"Ariel!" His voice boomed through the grotto. Impressive, since there was no air. "I thought I told you to stay in the palace! It isn't safe here."

"But Daddy, I was trying to help my friends!" Ariel protested.

Ariel's father's eyes fell down onto them. "And I suppose they had something to do with all this...human junk?"

"It's not junk!"

" _I told you to stay away from humans!_ Why must you always disobey me?"

"Why must you always treat me like a child?"

"I think we walked into something really personal here-" Dani interrupted. She was ignored.

Ariel's father raised the trident in his hand. It glowed with magic, and in the blink of an eye the other half of the grotto was wrecked.

"Now go back to the palace and think about what you've done." Ariel's father ordered.

Ariel froze in place for just a second, tears brimming in her eyes. She swam off in a huff, Flounder close on her tail. Dani turned to follow her.

"You there. Key Bearer." Ariel's father spoke again.

That got all seven of them to freeze.

"Ah—"A crab scrambled out towards them. "Present to you, his most royal highness, King Trident of the Seven-"

"Sebastion." Ariel's father interrupted. "Go check on Ariel. Make sure she gets back to the palace safely. I wish to talk to them alone."

"Y—yes sir." The crab scrambled off.

Trident waited until he was gone to speak again. "You may have fooled Ariel, but you can't fool me."

"We didn't fool her at all!" Sora protested. "We told her what was going on and she decided to help us!"

"Then you must know that, as Key Bearers, you must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds!" Trident's voice boomed.

"Oh." Katie said. "So this was a lose-lose situation from the beginning."

"I thank you for protecting my daughter." Trident said. "But my ocean has no room for you or your Key. A Keyblade wielder only brings about death and destruction."

"We're not like that!" Dani said. "I mean, we've lost three people-"

King Trident obviously didn't care to figure out where this conversation was going. He turned on his tail and left, leaving the seven alone.

* * *

Ariel ignored Sebastian's protests to keep up with her. She swam as fast as her tail could carry her, and didn't slow down until she found a private place where she could be alone. Her whole grotto, destroyed in less than 5 minutes! Why did her father not understand! How could humans be so bad, if they make so many nice things?

She didn't know how long she was there, trying to stop herself from crying, when she realized she wasn't alone.

"My, my...the poor child suffers such deep sorrow..."

"What a pity...if only there were something we could do…."

Two eels were circling around her now.

"Wait...maybe  _she_  can be some help..."

"Who are you talking about?" Ariel said, trying to hide the shake in her voice.

"Why, Ursula the Sea Witch of course..."

"She would certainly help you..."

Ariel bit back a gasp. Daddy had been warning her about Ursula for years, even if it was buried in all of his other lectures. Still...she was a witch. And a magic user was what Ariel needed right now.

"Do you think...Ursula would know where the Keyhole is?" Ariel asked.

"But of course..."

"Ursula can make any wish come true..."

* * *

"Well that went well." Hanna said.

Silence submerged.

"Do you think we should go find Ariel?" She tried instead.

"I'm not sure." Goofy said. "Ariel's a friend, but as a father, I see what Trident means about keeping her safe."

"YOU'RE A FATHER?" The five humans exclaimed.

"Gawrsh, have I not mentioned Maxie?" Goofy said quietly, as if he was realizing it. "I've been raising him on my own for years!"

"YOU'RE A  _SINGLE_  FATHER?!" Katie and Nadine exclaimed.

"A-yup!"

"I feel like we should have talked about this before." Hanna said.

"Not to mention, Donald has three little nephews. I bet he wouldn't want them to get into trouble, neither!" Goofy said.

"Not like that stops them..." Donald grumbled and folded his wings. "Huey, Dewey and Louie. They run a shop in Traverse Town."

"No yeah, we've met." Hanna said flatly. She didn't want to reveal the only real interaction she had with them ended with her covered in hi-potion goo. "I don't know...let's go back towards the shipwrecks, see what else we can find."

"Oh, tank goodness you're still here!" The crab with a Jamaican accent scurried back into the grotto. "Ariel is in grave danger! She's making a deal with the sea witch!"

* * *

Maniacal laughter filled the palace. "At last, the trident is mine!"

"Ursula, no! This isn't what we agreed to!"

"Oh? Of course, you're still looking for you  _precious Keyhole._ Don't worry, dearie, I'll give you a front row seat as the Heartless open it!"

"We cannot find the Keyhole..."

"The Keyhole is not here..."

" _What?"_

Dani was the first to swim into the room, followed closely by the others.

"Why, we have company." The octopus woman (woman? ...woman.) sneered as she turned to them. "I'm afraid you're all too late. The trident is mine, and the oceans are mine to control!"

Five Keyblades pointed at her, ready to fight.

"Oh?" The octopus laughed. "That may be more than I expected, but it's still no match for me!"

She raised the trident in her hand.

"Ursula, no!"

Magic shot from the prongs, and hit empty space in front of Dani. Then the world turned white.

Dani felt her feet touch empty space.

"Oh thank God, I have my legs back." Dani thought aloud.

She then bothered to look around. Nothing. Nothing, as far as the eye can see. Only Hanna, Katie and Nadine were visible in the nothing, just as confused as she was.

"Okay, maybe I celebrated prematurely."

"Kurse all SeeDs..."

Darkness began to form between them, molding and shaping itself into a humanoid figure. She was a woman, clearly; what clothes she had contained a neckline that plunged all the way down to her hi and left little to the imagination. Two black wings formed on her back. Her hair shaped and pulled itself into antlers that were even more ridiculous than the first ghost Heartless' had been.

"Oh, one of these." Hanna said. "Alright, get your last words out so we can kill you."

The Heartless glanced over her shoulder, and stared right at Dani.

"You think I kannot see you?"

Dani bit back a gasp.

"Seriously, what do you have against C's..." Katie murmured.

"Time kompression…the ability for several presents to exist at the same point in time...it is what draws us together.

It is what allowed Seymour and Kuja to exist in this realm again, only for them to be defeated by your hands. You have witnessed my ascension before, and you shall do so again.

It is what allows me to become a  _living god."_

The woman transformed into a beast.

"Now face me, Legendary SeeD."

Dani swallowed her fears and summoned her Keyblade. Whatever that woman was blabbering about could wait. She had a Heartless to fight.

The air grew thick with spells. Dani swung her Keyblade wildly, basically batting them away. It was effective to an extent.

She ran closer to her opponent and jumped. Her hand grabbed the hair of the Heartless ghost, as long and as impractical as the others had been, and swung upward. She put her Keyblade between her and the Heartless as she began to fell.

The Heartless effortlessly raised a hand and put up a shield. Dani bounced off of it.

She landed on her back. It took a few seconds to get her bearings back, enough time that Nadine saw her and was able to get to her.

"You alright?" Nadine asked. A Cure spell was already on the tip of her Keyblade.

"I can't land a hit on her." Dani said.

"I'm only doing marginally better." Nadine said.

"Well, not all of us can shoot bullets out of our keys, Nadine." Dani said.

"Well then maybe we should think of plan B."

As much as Dani did not want to admit it, she was right. Dani looked up.

"Time

will not wait

no matter

how hard you hold on…"

Something emerged from the endless nothing they were in. Not human, certainly; big and pitch black and beastlike, with red and yellow wings as big as Dani was. But not Heartless, she could tell. There was no Darkness emitting from it. In fact, it almost felt familiar.

It landed on the ground and tore at the non-existent ground on all fours. The disc on its back spun, crackling with magic and energy. It opened its mouth, and unleashed a spell Dani did not recognize.

The ghost Heartless recoiled.

More creatures were appearing now. Blue humanoid ones that engulfed the Heartless in blocks of ice. Red beastly ones that burned the ground. Yellow mammalian ones that made the air crackle with lighting.

"Yeah, but where are all of them coming from?" Nadine asked.

"We're fighting a ghost talking about time travel, does it matter right now?" Dani asked.

Another creature struck the Heartless, and Dani saw her opening. She pulled herself back onto her feet, raced towards the Heartless, jumped and put her Keyblade between her and the Heartless.

She could  _feel_  herself moving beneath her, another sword striking the Heartless across the face.

The Heartless faded back into the Darkness by the time Dani landed. The creatures were gone as well, and if there was something on the other side of Dani when she struck, it was no longer there. It was empty again.

"I guess that takes care of that." Dani said.

Nobody decided to argue with her.

"How do we leave?" Katie asked.

Nobody had an answer for her.

Dani blinked, and felt herself submerge.

* * *

"Daddy, I'm sorry, I so so-"

King Trident raised a hand, silencing Ariel. Despite reclining in his throne injured, he still managed to be intimidating. "This is not your fault. I was...wrong, to not let you follow your heart and help your friends. And you seven."

The five humans, one duck and one dog snapped their heads up and stood at attention.

"I was wrong to judge you. The Keyblade has brought nothing but destruction to this world. You have been the first to bring peace."

"But that means...there have been other Keyblade wielders before us?" Sora asked.

Triton gave a weak nod. "There have been many that have come here before. Soldiers.  _Surface dwellers._ You have been the first in a long time. That is, I'm afraid, all I know about them.

"What I do know is the Keyhole." Triton continued. "I had it hidden in Ariel's Grotto. My trident can reveal it. Keywielders, I ask you this: seal it for me."

"Of course!" Goofy said.

"And then leave my ocean."

Whatever pride Triton had just build up in Nadine collapsed in on itself. A quick look around confirmed the others felt the same way.

"You still trust us that little?" Nadine asked.

"I mean no offense...I only wish to protect my family." Triton said.

Ariel looked sheepish. "Sorry..."

"Well, you know what? We're gonna do it!" Dani said. "We're gonna do it! And we're gonna seal it better than any other Keyblade master ever has! And we're gonna prove to you we're not all entirely untrustworthy!"

Triton chuckled. "You have much to prove. But I look forward to the challenge."

* * *

"Oh, Christ, my legs!"

"We should have gotten out of the water a long time ago!"

"Look at how pruny my skin is!"

"Okay, can we pull over at, like, the truck-stop world and get a good shower in?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Original Author's Note: I like the Little Mermaid a lot more for what it means to me than what it is. As a kid, it was my favorite Disney movie (although I liked the Little Mermaid 2 more because I, as a young child who wanted to be a mermaid, could relate to Melody more than I could Ariel in the first movie). Recently I had the pleasure of going to the Little Mermaid Hollywood Fish Bowl, a live orchestra playing simultaneously with the movie, and that was probably one of the best things that has happened to me in the last few years. It's not the best Disney movie, and it's not my favorite (which is complicated, but I'll say Fantasia for now), but it is the one that means the most to be. And I know I already criticized Wonderland for being a very weird Kingdom Hearts world, but what did they do to Atlantica?
> 
> So I've teased this before, but this story is really in three parts. Simple/Clean is one standalone story introducing the characters and concepts. The next part will explore the world a little more, and put our characters to the test. I hope to have the second story out around this time next year. If you can figure out this chapter's villain of the week, than you may be on your way to figuring out where I'm going from here.


	9. Spooky Scary Skellingtons

As Nadine exited the Gummi Ship, she was vaguely aware that she still had magic on her. Out of curiosity, she reached out her phone and looked through the reflection.

"Donald."

"Yes?"

" _Why?"_

Donald folded his arms, wrapped bandages falling loose on grotesque arms. "After we were banished, I didn't want to take any chances looking out of place."

"Ah, I don't think it's too bad." Goofy said. He failed to notice that a screw was driving into his cranium.

"'Not that bad', we look like Halloween costumes!" Nadine protested. "The cheap kinds, you get from the Spirit store!"

"Then let's go trick-or-treating!" Katie said.

Sora and Dani echoed the sentiment with a cheer.

Nadine rolled her eyes. Actually, the whole place looked like it would fit in a Spirit store. Both the fences around them and the grass were dark and scraggly, and barely looked alive. Lights in the shape of pumpkins lined the streets. A full moon, big enough to be suspicious even if Nadine knew this world didn't have a moon orbiting it, sat in a twilight-engulfed sky. Nadine glanced at a sign nearby made of brittle wood. HALLOWEENTOWN, it exclaimed in font that looked like it was trying to run away from the board.

"Well fancy that." She muttered.

She pushed the gates open. They creaked and groaned, in a way that probably would have been intimidating if there wasn't a small chant of "Trick or treat! Trick or treat!" behind her. She looked inside.

Nadine wasn't sure what she was looking at. She could process a skeleton, towering around 8 feet and wearing quite a nice suit all things considered, a group of Heartless that looked like cartoonish ghosts, and vague movements that were probably supposed to be dancing. None of that fit into her mind, into the place where she could make sense of information. And the longer she stared at it, the more she felt herself go insane.

"Should we come back later?" Katie asked, which was probably more coherent than what Nadine would have said.

"Oh!" The skeleton waved his hand passively. "No, no, you're fine. My act just needs work."

The skeleton collapsed on to the bench of the fountain dramatically, crossed his leg, and held his skull up with his hand. "I just don't know what I need. I thought adding the Heartless to the act would work, but they just don't have the... _heart_  I need."

Nadine had no idea how she managed to keep a straight face. Actually, she was pretty sure that she didn't, and that nobody commented on her face twisting to contain her unholy levels of rage. "Okay, let's make this quick Mr. Skeleton-"

"Ah—Ske _lling_ ton. Don't worry; people make that mistake all the time. Just call me Jack!" The skeleton said.

Nadine wanted to scream.

" _Jack…_ we're new here, can you tell us anyone in town who's just... _evil_? Like... _actually evil?_ "

Jack hummed in thought and got back to his feet. "Well, I think you're describing almost everyone in town! But if you're looking for someone that would cause trouble, I'd keep my eye away from Oogie Boogie. He hasn't done much since I kicked him out of town, but-"

"Great! Where does he live?" Nadine asked.

It was hard to tell on someone who had no skin, no eyebrows, and no eyes, but Jack looked worried. "Hey, I don't think it's safe to go talk to him on your own! Allow me to accompany you!"

"You know what fine!" Donald said.

The chanting of "Trick or treat!" started again, and with the new member.

* * *

_It was for his sisters._

It was a mantra that ran through his head constantly. He'd like to think that it centered him, but it was doing a bad job at it. He would move the heavens and earth, explore every planet in the universe, if it meant his family was safe.

_It was for his sisters._

"You seem nervous. Are you not confident in your abilities?"

"No."

"I assure you, you would not have been brought along if I thought you could not handle it."

"No, you misunderstand." He snapped his fingers, summoning a group of Heartless. Darkness tugged at his heart.

_It was for his sisters._

"I  _am_ confident in my abilities. That's what makes me nervous."

She chuckled lowly, not so much condescending to him as it was to the world, and vanished into the darkness.

Dim took in a shaky breath.

* * *

"Here, let's take a shortcut." Jack suggested. He crawled into a nearby bathtub, and pulled his lanky legs towards himself to make room.

The others stared at him.

"That's a bathtub." Nadine said.

The bathtub headbutted her in the knee. It didn't hurt her leg as much as it hurt her pride.

"Alright. I give up." Nadine said and jumped inside.

It was an awkward fit, but most of them managed to squeeze inside. The bathtub hobbled along, probably even more dragged down by the weight. It was a more awkward ride up.

Eventually, the bathtub stopped and sat back down.

"Here we are." Jack said as he climbed out. "OOGIE! I WISH TO TALK TO YOU!"

* * *

_He was doing it for his sisters._

_He was doing it for his sisters._

_he wAs doiNG it for HIs SiStErS,_

_he was doing it for-_

Darkness overcame him. The mantra faded from his mind. Power surged through him, and it  _burned_. Yet he could not stop. This was the power he needed, to…

To-

_His sisters._ A bit cut-up and bruised, but no worse for wear. Alive. Safe.

In a second, the Darkness was relinquished.

"Dani! Hanna!"

* * *

Dani picked herself back up.

"Alright. Let's not get onto the roulette wheel next time." Dani said.

Hanna responded by groaning into the ground.

"Hey, do you think we've acquired Goofy's ability to survive any fall?" Dani asked.

"Dani, that is not the time to be asking that!"

"Just curious." Dani shrugged. "Come on, let's get-"

"Dani! Hanna!"

Dani found herself being crushed into a bear hug. It took her a second before she could process it. Long brown hair, too tall for someone so lanky, teenage boy smell…

"Dim!"

Dim broke the hug, but kept his hands on Dani's shoulders. "Man, oh man, am I glad to see you two! Are you okay?"

"Well, we've been trying to fight a potato sacked filled with bugs, but other than that, sure." Hanna said. "What about you?"

"Well, it's getting better now." Dim said. "If I'm with you, I don't think I need to worry about it too much."

"Oh, really?" Riku's voice echoed through the yard. He appeared in a flash of darkness. "I thought we had a plan."

Dani and Hanna tensed up, the reunion forgotten. They summoned their Keyblades. Riku brought out his own sword. Dim stood in the middle, trying really hard to figure out how to diffuse this.

"Hey listen man, these are my sisters." Dim said. "I'm not gonna fight them. I'm backing out."

"Oh?" Riku cocked an eyebrow condescendingly.

"Yeah, sorry, I'll try not to get in your way too much but, well, I kinda need my planet back at some point. Give my best to Maleficent and all that." Dim said.

"I assure you, I will."

"Great! Catch you around, man! Good luck with Kairi!"

Dim turned back to Dani and Hanna, ignoring their frantic miming to  _not turn your back on him, you idiot! He's evil!_ "Now, you said you were fighting some sort of potato sack?"

The tip of the Soul Eater extended from Dim's chest. Dani froze in place, her heart stopped. Dim took a shaky breath as his eyes fell on the blade. He tried to glance over his shoulder at his attacker.

"Riku…the fu-"

Darkness ate away at Dim's body. A heart flew away from the scene.

"If you won't do your job, I'll just have to make you."

The darkness flared and surged. It erupted, knocking Dani back on her feet. When she looked up, a Heartless in the shape of her brother was standing over her.

* * *

A scream echoed through Halloweentown. It wasn't the usual type of scream, the kind that inspired bone-chilling terror. No. It was a scream of despair.

"What was that?" Nadine asked.

"That, my friend, is the Sound of Ultimate Suffering." Katie said. "Dani makes it now."

Another scream echoed through Halloweentown.

"And that one was Hanna, so we should act quick."

Dani didn't want to fight back. She froze in place. She held her Keyblade in front of her like a shield, but didn't move it around like Goofy would. She  _did not want to fight back._

The creature that was not Dim lunged for her.

" _Here I come to save the day!"_

A Thunder spell broke between the two of them.

Nadine stepped in, her Keyblade ready. "Are you okay?"

Tears blinded Dani's vision. "No!"

Nadine looked like she wasn't quite sure what to do. "Hey, Katie, why don't you get these two out of here?"

Dani didn't say anything as Katie pulled her to safety. Neither did Hanna, even as Katie tried to heal them and talk to them. She tuned the world around her out, and tried to do anything to wipe Dim's confused face and shaky gasps from her memory.

Nadine skated out of the way of the Heartless and fired a few magic bullets. They hit, but the Heartless didn't slow down. It lunged for her, crawling, claws dragging on the ground.

And it was  _fast_.

Nadine managed to get away, but not after a few claws raked through her skin. It didn't hit strong, but it hit a lot. She would have to keep her distance. It was a good thing she was good at that.

She launched a Fire spell to knock it backwards, then skated backwards as far and as fast as she could. A storm of bullets shot from her Keyblade. The Heartless flinched as they hit it, but didn't stir. It gave one long look at Nadine, as if decided what it wanted to do, before opening up a dark portal under himself and slipping away. Nadine rushed to get closer before it could fade, but no such luck.

Nadine watched the ground for a minute. The battle was over, sure, but the Heartless was still alive. And she wasn't an idiot. It upset Dani and Hanna,  _a lot._ She wondered if it escaping was a good thing.

* * *

"Dmitri?" Sora asked.

"Their brother." Katie explained.

"Oh." And really, there wasn't anything else Sora could say.

"Why the long faces, friends?" Jack said, leaning down to look them in the eye. "You probably had one of the best screams in all of Halloweentown!"

"That's not exactly a compliment..." Nadine said and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Nonsense! There's never a bad time to be proud of your scream!" Jack continued. "Why, that's what Halloween is all about! You can't really live without having to face death every once in a while! And once you're properly petrified, you can know what you're made of and face life square on!"

There was silence in the cemetery. Jack straightened himself out, looking quite pleased.

"What is he talking about?" Nadine asked.

"No, no, he has a point." Sora said.

"No he doesn't!"

"You're right."

The voice was so quiet at first, Sora wasn't sure if he heard it right.

"You're right!" Dani said a bit louder. She sprung from the bench. "I'm scared. I might be scared to death. I may never see my family ever again! But  _like hell_  if I'm not going to fight to get them back."

"He's a Heartless!" Hanna argued.

"Yes. But what are  _we_?"

" _Not_  able to fix that!"

"We don't know that for sure!" Dani said. "Think about it; nobody knew for sure that there can be more than one Keyblade Master at a time, and we proved them wrong! Nobody knew for sure there was sentient life on other planets, but we proved that! Nobody knew there were other ways to wield the Keyblade, and we figured that one out! If anyone can do it, it's us!

"We're going to save Dim. And Kairi. And the King! And all the other girls that Maleficent kidnapped! And then we're going to go out for lunch! Now  _whose with me?"_

A cheer rang through the cemetery.

"Thanks, Jack." Hanna said. "For a skeleton, you sure know a lot about life."

"You're welcome, but I'm not sure what I did."

* * *

"You would turn your own friend into a Heartless?"

"Not quite. I could not take his heart, no matter what I tried. I took his body instead." Riku said. "And it does not matter who he was. It would be more useful to us in this form. He will obey us without question."

For the first time that she could remember, Maleficent did not know what to say. Even at her most desperate, she would not force an ally to work with her in such a way. (She would take everything they ever loved and make them beg for solace, but they still surrendered to her willingly) There was Darkness grew in the back of Riku's eyes, Darkness that she could not make out.

There was more Darkness in the boy than she had initially thought. She was not sure if that was a good thing.

"Then I will leave you to it."

She would need to be prepared, in case things got worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: To be honest, I'm not a big fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I like the music and the characters, and I'll at least appreciate any stop-motion film. But I can never fully enjoy it. I think a reason is I associate it with the My Immortal-esque Trying Too Hard to be Edgy crowd of the early 2000′s. This is also my least favorite part of the game. Not helping was that it only had like 30 seconds of song on a loop. I can no longer enjoy "This is Halloween" because of this game.
> 
> This chapter was surprisingly fun to write, however. Especially Jack. The jokes almost make up for the fact that I killed one of my characters and made Riku irredeemably evil.


	10. Lost and Found

When he was much younger, before his sisters were alive, he asked his mother why they didn't have two grandmas.

He was still young, and most of his information about the outside world came from TV. Still, he was pretty sure that most people had at least two grandmas (some could have as many as four if they were  _really_  lucky, but TV generally didn't show that one).

At the time, Mom only smiled more and pinched his cheeks. But he was more stubborn than most children, so he insisted. Eventually, she caved in.

"I haven't seen your grandparents in a long time." She admitted. "They didn't want to see me anymore, and I never wanted to see them again."

Looking back on it now, he could see that her smile was stretched too thin and felt too forced. Looking back on it now, he felt terrible for even asking the once.

"But I wouldn't want you around them anyway." Mom said. "There are better people I want you to learn better things from. But remember this."

Mom pulled him in closer so he could look into her eyes. He had seen her several times before and several times since, but never once was he able to forget  _that look._  He had never forgotten the fire that was lit behind her eyes, all light and hope and determination.

He had never forgotten that look, but he would see it in other places. Dani, mostly, but sometimes Hanna.

"Your siblings are going to be here soon." Mom said. "And when they do come, they're going to need a lot of help. I want you to be able to help them.  _Real_  family stays together."

He never found out if Dani or Hanna had a similar speech. He realized much later on that few people would get that lesson, and by the time he was in 6th grade, he learned to hold in his shock whenever someone would complain about their siblings. It didn't matter. No matter how much they cried or how bad they were at playing trains, Dim loved his sisters. They were his best friends. They were his family.

* * *

A full rigged ship, the kind you would see on the covers of children's books about pirate ships. Three masts, sails hoisted despite the fact that there is no air in space. 10 cannons, all pointed towards them. It made the Gummi ship look very small.

"But what is a pirate ship doing in the middle of space?" Nadine asked. "There aren't any jets on that thing, how did it  _get_  here?"

"Hey, do you think that thing is chasing Monstro?" Katie asked.

The ship charged.

"I think that thing is chasin' us!" Goofy said.

"Oh! So we're the great white whale?"

" _Incoming!"_ Donald cried.

The Gummi Ship crashed. This was far from the first time it had done so, so none of the occupants were terribly shaken.

Hanna was the first to open the hatch to get out. She was greeted by Heartless, holding a variety of swords. She swallowed hard, and raised her hands in the universal sign of surrender. The rest of the occupants of the ship filed out in a similar matter.

"I didn't think you'd make it this far, Sora." Riku greeted from the steering wheel. "It's good to see you."

"I can't say the same." Sora said.

He glared. It didn't quite look like a glare, so much as it looked like a puppy trying to be intimidating.

"Where's our brother, you creep!" Dani spoke up instead, and took a step forward. The swords aimed towards her, but she didn't flinch back.

"Is he really that important to you? More important than letting old friends reunite?"

Dani and Hanna shared a look.

" _Yes!"_ They exclaimed in unison.

"Fine. Then I won't tell you I found Kairi."

Riku took a step to the side. Just out of the corner of her eye, Hanna could see a human figure, slumped onto the deck.

Sora's eyes widened. "Kairi!"

"While you were off with your new friends, I decided to go and find her." Riku explained.

"Bet you got the Heartless to help you with that, didn't you!" Dani said.

The light faded from Sora's eyes. "Riku, why are you siding with the Heartless? You're better than that!"

"My heart's too strong for them. I have nothing to fear." Riku turned his attention back to Hanna and Dani. "Now you can go visit your brother."

A trap door on the deck opened.

Nobody was anywhere near it.

Hanna stared at the trap door for a minute. Then back to the Heartless, whose swords were now getting a lot closer.

One by one, in a single file line, they jumped to their doom.

* * *

"Ya don't say?"

"Yeah! That was definitely her! I've finally found her!"

"All right!  _A-hyuck!_  Now let's go up there and talk to her!"

"Yeah!"

"Sounds great! Okay, but first,  _how about getting off!"_

The six piled off of Donald, who grumbled a thanks.

Nadine glanced around the room. The brig of the ship, though bigger than it ought to be, was virtually empty. The only things in the room were a few barrels and crates, that probably held food and water at one point. Not even rope that could have restrained them. There was only one door that could lead out, but Nadine had no idea where it would lead.

"Lookin' for a way out?"

Nadine's head snapped towards the source. "Yes, Mr. Barrel. If you have something to contribute, please do."

A blur of green shot towards her. It took Nadine a minute to process it was a boy. Far younger than her, dressed entirely in clothes that looked woven from twigs and leaves, and...floating.

"Who're you?" Goofy asked.

"Me?" The boy asked with a cocky smile. "I'm the answer to your prayers!"

Katie scoffed and folded her arms. " _You_  don't look like a unicorn."

"Fine then. I won't help you break out."

"Aren't you trapped in here with us?" Sora asked.

"Nah. I'm just waiting for someone."

The sound of jingling bells filled the room. A yellow blur shot past Nadine, and towards the boy.

"What took you so long, Tinker Bell?" The boy asked.

More jingles. Nadine had to squint, but she could just make out a humanoid figure in the yellow light.

" _Another_  girl?...I'm just not going to leave Wendy behind, Tink!...Wait, Tink-"

The yellow blur shot past Nadine and out of the room.

The boy pouted.

"So are we working together?" Nadine asked.

"Fine. But only until we find Wendy." The boy said. "Peter Pan, at your service!"

"Fantastic. How are we getting out of here?" Nadine asked.

"We can't go anywhere if that door's locked." Sora pointed out. "Do you think we can stack enough barrels on top of each other to get to the trap door?"

"Can't you fly?" Peter asked.

"Can't you use the magical weapon that can unlock any door?" Hanna asked.

"Oh. Right."

* * *

"After all that trouble of capturing her, you just want me to let her go?" Captain Hook asked.

"She's not one of the ones Maleficent wants." Riku said.

Captain Hook put hand and hook on hips. "And what exactly, is Maleficent planning, anyway?"

"Who knows? All I know is that she needs seven maidens, and Wendy isn't one of them. Dispose of them however you want. Make them walk the plank, if you want."

He did want to make the walk the plank, but he wanted to prove his point more. "And what of the other girls we captured. Are they the chosen ones?"

Captain Hook had seen many a great thing in his day. Not only was he a pirate, but he was a pirate in a magical world. He had kidnapped Indians, fought with mermaids, and flown above the seven seas. His arch-nemeses were a boy who never grew older and never grew wiser, and a crocodile. On any day, he would put up with things that would make another pirate look like a landlubber.

And yet the glare that Riku sent him made the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. " _Them_ , I  _expect_  you to throw off the plank."

"Captain, we're having a bit of a problem!" Smee rushed in, nearly knocking into Captain Hook in the process. "Th—the prisoners have escaped. A—and Peter Pan is with them!"

Captain Hook's blood boiled over. He opened his mouth, ready to shout to his crew, the Heartless, anyone, to get those prisoners back. Riku, however, simply snapped his fingers to conjure a Heartless. The Heartless faded into the ground, moving past Captain Hook's feet and almost tripping him, and vanished through the gap in the door.

"He'll take care of the prisoners. You worry about getting rid of the dead weight."

Captain Hook stood there, mustache twitching. He deserved more respect than to be pushed around by a mere child like that. On the other hand...someone was  _wrong_  with that boy. And not in the usual way Captain Hook had to put up with misbehaving children.

* * *

"Peter? Peter Pan!"

"Wendy!" Peter jumped up towards the floorboards and hovered there. "Where are you? Are you alright? Are the Lost Boys with you?"

"We're all alright, but please hurry! The pirates are going to come soon!"

"Alright, I'll be right up there!"

"Wendy?" Sora asked, sounding hesitant. "Is there anyone else up there with you?"

"Well, there  _is_  another girl, but she appears to be asleep. She hasn't moved an inch." Wendy said.

"C'mon help me get up here!" Peter exclaimed, still tugging at the loose floorboards.

" _We can't fly!"_ Nadine snapped.

"Oh, that? Tink, can you take care of it?"

Hanna wasn't sure how bells could sound angry, but Tinkerbell in her strange language made it work.

"Oh come on!"Peter snatched Tinkerbell by the wings and shook her. Golden dust fell from her and onto the seven. Katie sneezed, scattering it.

"There! Now you can fly!" He said.

"No, now we're covered in glitter." Hanna said. "And I've been needing a proper shower since three worlds back."

"If you believe in yourself, you can try anything!" Peter said. "Now fly!"

From above, Wendy screamed. Peter jumped out of the way as a Shadow crawled through the floorboards and onto the floor below. Not a Shadow, Hanna realized as it grew. Dim. Or what Dim was supposed to be.

The Heartless rushed towards her. Hanna summoned one keyblade to counter it. Another to attack. The Heartless stumbled backwards, and fell forward as another Keyblade struck him from behind.

" _Give me back my brother!"_ She roared.

The fight started. Out of the corner of her eye, Hanna could see the others scurrying up the floorboards and into where Wendy and the others were, but she didn't care. The hall was narrow, and they would have gotten in the way anyway.

The Heartless was quick, but Hanna was quicker.

The Heartless could attack hard, but not as hard as Dani.

The Heartless could attack one of them thoroughly, but that only gave the other time to strike.

The Heartless wasn't strong enough to take them together. And it knew it. It fell to the ground and crawled back towards the ceiling.

* * *

"This is the silliest battle against good and evil ever." Nadine said.

Still, it wasn't every day you got to see a band of pirates get their beards punched off by a group of kids. The charge was led by Peter Pan, who seemed to be the oldest one in the group. He had challenged Captain Hook in what was probably the only real battle in the group; Peter soared over him and fought hook to dagger, Hook crawled through the masts and crow's nest to keep up. The others…well, the three year old with the teddy bear seemed to be doing the most damage so far, followed by the seven year old in a top hat, who managed to find a way to duel with his umbrella. Occasionally a Heartless would show up, but it was usually defeated by either Donald's or Nadine's magic.

"Hey, do you think we can steal this ship when this is over and use it instead?" Katie asked.

"And abandon the Gummi Ship?" Goofy asked.

"I've been sharing the same mattress with six other people for the last few weeks. I think it's worth it."

"You've also been using me as a pillow." Donald grumbled.

"You're fluffy and warm. I have no regrets."

Nadine's eye drifted. Out from where they had escaped came the Heartless that looked like Dim, followed quickly by his sisters.

"Do you think we should go help them?" Sora asked.

"No," Katie said, her voice gravely serious. "This is their fight."

Just faintly, over the roar of the other fights, Nadine could hear "No it's not!"

"Oh. Then yeah, we might want to deal with that."

Four more Keyblades joined the fight.

Seven pointed towards the Heartless.

The Heartless' head snapped back and forth, as if it were trying to figure out which one of them was less likely to break him. The answer was none of them. It settled for stepping backwards into the Darkness.

"You're stronger than I thought." Riku spoke from above. "But I wonder how much stronger you would be if you didn't have to rely on them."

Sora turned to him and scowled. "Riku, you're better than this. I know you are. You don't have to work with them."

"You don't get it, do you? You're not strong enough to get Kairi's heart back."

A portal of Darkness appeared behind Riku. Sora rushed towards him, dismissing his Keyblade so he could hold a hand towards him. Riku took a step backward. Sora jumped.

He did not fall down. In fact, he kept rising up, bits of golden dust falling off him as he did.

The portal closed before he could get there.

* * *

As it turns out, they could not keep the ship. Both the Lost Boys and the Darling family had to get back to their homeworlds, which were apparently different places. Peter had tried to explain it to her, but he seemed to rely on stars in the sky as addresses, and he was having a hard time following along with the disappearing sky. Nadine did not want to tell him why it was missing. Peter had declared himself captain, and while he looked decidedly foppish in Captain Hook's hat, he didn't look nearly as foppish as Captain Hook himself.

"Alright, James," Nadine said as she dragged the former captain by his jacket. "Tell me what we want to know, and we won't throw you overboard until we're over Neverland."

Hook twitched. "Alright, alright, just  _get me away from that beast!_ "

As someone who grew up in Florida, Nadine could respect a healthy fear of crocodiles. Hook, on the other hand, took it to another level. He shook like a leaf in a hurricane, and every time he heard so much as a clock tick, he would jump. That, unfortunately, was frequently.

"I thought  _I_  was the bad cop." Katie said.

"I thought forced in-terror-gation was bad." John Darling said.

"It is, so don't watch." Nadine answered.

Wendy helped turn her brothers and Katie around.

Hook took a breath to prepare himself. It didn't help all that much, but it got him talking. "They're heading for a world called Hollow Bastion. Maleficent's plan involves bringing together seven maidens of pure hearts. Supposedly that'll give her great power, but I don't know how."

"She didn't tell you the whole plan?" Nadine asked.

"I don't think she told  _anyone_  the whole plan." Hook said. "The boy seems to think it'll allow him to bring back the girl, but I don't know."

Nadine took a minute to process that. "And Hollow Bastion?"

"Never been to it. I'll be surprised if it's an actual world or just some rock Maleficent found floating in space."

"The word you're thinking of is meteor." Nadine said. "Thanks for the help; we'll be sure to throw you into the Mermaid Lagoon."

She gestured to the two boys in matching raccoon costumes to take him to the brig.

* * *

Sora hadn't moved for a long time. He leaned against the port-bow, watching the clouds underneath drift past.

And Hanna wasn't sure what to do about it.

She, Peter, Donald and Goofy had watched him for some time, not sure what to say to him or if they should try. Hanna had settled for standing next to him, a silent reminder that she was with him no matter what. Donald and Goofy had settled for whispering to themselves in voices that weren't quite whispers.

"I still can't believe it." He muttered at last.

"Sora, I-"

"I flew. I actually flew!" Sora looked up, and Hanna saw all the lights in his eyes turn on. "I can't wait to tell Kairi! I wonder if she'll believe me...Probably not."

Hanna let out a breathy laugh in relief. She was not sure she could handle watching Sora break down.

"You can take her to Neverland!" Peter said. "Then, she can try it herself!"

"Sure, we've already broken every other rule about world order." Donald said.

"There's so much I want to tell her, about flying, about the pirates, about everything that's happened!" Sora continued.

Silence fell between them, for it could not fly. Sora's excitement dimmed a bit.

"If you believe, you can do anything, right?" Sora said. "So do you think...we'll be able to get Kairi's heart back?"

Hanna wasn't quite sure the answer to that. "Yes," she said, because she did not want to accept no as an answer.

"And your brother?"

"Of course." Hanna said.

Another pause.

"What about Riku?" She asked.

Sora looked unsure. "I don't know if I can justify Riku's actions anymore. But he's still my friend, and he's just as much a victim of the Heartless as anyone."

"Well," Goofy said. "We'll just haveta find a way ta help him too!"

"Alright, everybody, set course!" Katie announced as she joined them.

Peter jumped to the wheel. "Where to?"

"Uh, no,  _we're_  heading out." Nadine clarified, and gestured to the seven of them.

"Where to?" Hanna asked.

"Where Maleficent is hiding out: Hollow Bastion."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I've always liked the idea of Peter Pan more than the actual work. Not even getting into the racism, it always felt a little too "child logic"-y for me. I like the aesthetics and the worldbuilding fine, just not the content. Although one of my favorite high school theater experiences was when my brother was in a production of Peter Pan (I think he was Smee? Definitely one of the pirates) and the final battle at the end was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen on stage. It was the very definition of high school theater experience. I think that's what Peter Pan excels at: loosely connected shenanigans.
> 
> We're in the final stretch for this story now! The next two chapters are the finale! There will still be two sequels that will continue the story. And, you know….probably a little more.


	11. The End of the World As We Know It

"So tell me, how did you get here? No vessel, no help from Heartless..."

_It was reckless to come here without a vessel._

"I believed." the beast said. "I vowed to find her, no matter what the cost."

_Remember, relying too much on the darkness could cost you your heart._

Riku bit back the memories and summoned the Soul Eater. "How  _pitiful_."

* * *

If Dani hadn't know this world was called Hollow Bastion, she could have taken a pretty good guess. There was only one place safe to land, a gorge carved through the ocean. Though she could only see bits and pieces of what else remained on the world, she could figure out quickly that nobody had lived there for a very long time. Not  _never lived_  there; the ruins of houses proved that much.

Oceans churned around them. Boulders, most suspended of their own accord, lead the only path Dani could see that didn't involve swimming. The path lead towards what was probably once a castle, more rust than metal but still standing.

"Well, looks like we're platforming." Nadine said.

"I think I've been here before." Sora said.

"Good. Could you show us around?" Hanna huffed as she jumped to the closest platform.

"No, I mean..." Sora stopped as he jumped. "I feel this warmth, here in my heart."

"You're probably just hungry." Donald said. He had to flap his wings a bit to give him enough height, but he managed to get to the next platform.

"I'm serious guys!"

"So was I."

The platforms shook, nearly causing Dani to lose her footing. Noise shot through Hollow Bastion. It took Dani to realize, that was a growl. A growl that another living being, probably not human,  _hopefully_  not human, was making.

"That sounds like something we shouldn't mess with." Hanna said.

"That sounds like someone that needs help." Katie said. "That was the Sound of Ultimate  _Rage_."

"I don't think the help we usually provide will help him." Nadine replied. "That sounds like psychological help."

"We'll never help if we just stand here!" Sora said.

It still took time to cross through the platforms, even with the need to rush. Eventually, Dani jumped to solid ground, at the foot of the castle. Riku watched from above, at his feet something big and hairy that Dani couldn't make out.

"I was wondering when you'd get here." Riku spoke up. "Here, I got you a present, Sora."

Something landed at Sora's feet.

"What, I get nothing?" Dani asked.

"Why would a thief like you deserve a reward?" Riku asked.

Dani's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. She looked down at Sora's floppy shoes, where a wooden sword now rested.

"That's a terrible present." Katie said. "He already has a sword."

"Does he?" Riku asked. "There's only ever been one Keyblade, passed down to the universe's strongest."

"I think we're proof that you're wrong on that one, bud!" Dani said.

"That's where you're mistaken."

Riku held out his hand, and the Keyblade Dani and Sora used appeared.

Sora held out his hand. Nothing. Dani held out her hand. Just as much nothing. The others tried, and produced similar results.

"All this time, you were just borrowing the power of the Keyblade. You were  _excess_. And Sora?" Riku smirked at this. "You were just a delivery boy."

"But we've fought all this way together! With the Keyblade!" Sora stammered.

"Your part's over." Riku said. "I'll be the one to save Kairi."

Time slowed after that. Dani's mind went thick with thoughts, none of which she could intelligently decipher. She watched as Riku turned on his heel and, with her Keyblade, entered the castle. She watched as Sora fell to the ground in defeat. She watched as Donald and Goofy talked to each other, and stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, but...we have to find the King."

And they were alone.

* * *

"Do you really think we should've left them behind like that?" Goofy asked.

"I don't know. But we have to find the King. And that involves following the Keyblade." Donald said.

"But Sora and the others were our friends."

"I know, alright!"

"If you're that concerned about them, you can go back." Riku spoke up. He hadn't glanced back at them once. "I never asked you to follow me. I can do this on my own."

Donald froze, too surprised to respond. Then he got mad.

" _What is wrong with him!"_ Donald screeched. The echoes bounced through the empty castle, the first sign that anyone was inside in a long time.

"He doesn't look too good." Goofy said.

Donald calmed down enough to realize he was right. Riku moved like he was walking through water. His breath came out in heavy pants as if walking through the castle was like running a marathon. His scowl, though a permanent feature for as long as Donald had known him, faded ever so slightly ever so often to show bits of pain.

Donald could not tell what was going through his head, but he did know the tell-tale signs of magical fatigue. He could only image how much worse it could feel if it was fatigue from relying on the powers of Darkness too much.

* * *

"Go Keyblade Go!"

"Fly!"

"Up up and away Keyblade!"

"Shazam!"

"Go!"

"Go!"

"Go!"

"This is getting hard to watch." Hanna said.

Dani didn't listen, and proceeded to try every hand gesture he had ever seen in his life.

"Do you think we should help them?" Katie asked.

"How? It's not like we had a Keyblade." Nadine asked. "All we have is one wooden sword. At least before we all had keys! Man, I wish I had a toaster right now!"

She collapsed on the ground. Sora tried a few more hand flaps before he joined her.

"I didn't know that was what I was doing." Sora said. "I never thought...I just thought you had Keyblades and we could work together. And if I knew I was doing that...I'm not sure I would have."

Silence fell between them. A low growl drove Hanna from her thoughts. She turned back to the mound of brown hair.

"Hey, wait, you're hurt-" Katie started.

"Why are you here?" The voice attached to the mound of hair growled.

Katie's shoulder's sagged. "I'm not even sure anymore."

The creature stood. " _I'm_  here to find Belle. And I won't leave without her."

He stood to his feet.

"I think you have a point." Dani said. "We have a job to do, and I'm not leaving without my brother."

"Are you crazy? We're gonna get killed in there!" Nadine said.

"Come on, Nadine!" Dani said. "We survived the destruction of Earth! We've traveled from planet to planet, we've saved so many people, we've crashed the Gummi Ship so many times...are we just gonna sit back and let that white-haired pretty boy tell us he's in charge?"

"We have no plans, no weapons-"

"We'll be our own weapons then!"

"Are you suggesting I whirl you around like a sword?"

"Why not?" She grabbed Sora's hand and looked him dead in the eye. "You gave me your power. So let me give mine to you."

Hanna's hand joined Dani's. Then Katie's, followed shortly by Nadine's. The Beast, not quite sure what to do, gently put down a claw.

Light emitted from Sora's hands. Hanna drew back, only out of instinct. She wasn't the only one. When Sora's hand was visible again, he was holding a sword. One that looked very similar to something Hanna saw in a dream.

"Let's go." Sora said.

* * *

True to Nadine's fears, storming the castle proved to be difficult. Even without the hordes of Heartless, the castle was old and complicated to navigate through. Nadine managed to solve most of the puzzles before the Beast simply knocked through them. Likewise, the Beast, Dani and Sora carved through the crowds of Heartless for them, with varying degrees of success. Sora easily had the better weapon. Dani wasn't half bad with the wooden sword, but the Beast's raw strength was greater. The three others usually sat on the Beast's back while they fought.

The Beast's pace slowed as they entered a new room. That cued the others to jump off of his back.

"They're close. I can feel it." He said. Nadine would have added a gruffly, but she was pretty sure he never said anything  _not_  gruffly. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, sure, why not." Nadine said. There was no way she was ready for this, but there was nothing that could happen that would make her leave. "So do you want to split up into teams, or should we-"

"Belle?"

Nadine looked just in time to see something vaguely humanoid melt into a Heartless. The Beast roared and charged into a different room.

"Got it. Play it by ear. Cool."

"Why can't you quit while you can?"

Nadine turned in the other direction. Riku stood there, a cold look on his face. Behind him were Donald and Goofy, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"You did that?" Sora demanded.

"Relax. Belle is still alive. I wouldn't rid of her until she fulfills my plans. I would worry more about you." Riku said. "This isn't a game. Get lost."

"I'm not leaving without Kairi and Dim." Sora said.

"Very well. Let the Darkness destroy you." Riku said.

Darkness formed at Riku's hand. He launched it like a canon blast, hurdling it towards the five. Nadine barely had time to dodge, but she didn't need to. It collided with something else before it could get close to her.

Goofy looked up from his shield. "Gawrsh. They ain't goin' anywhere!"

For just a second, Riku's face twitched. A slight break in his calm and collected persona. "You'd betray your King for them?"

"Not on your life! But I won't betray them. They're my best friends." Goofy said. "Donald, could ya tell the King I'm really sorry?"

"That's not fair!" Donald shouted from the sidelines. "We'll tell him together."

He grabbed his staff and rushed over. "Sorry for leaving you behind before."

Riku's expression twitched again, this time long enough to notice.

"I've realized something, Riku." Sora said. "What you have isn't real power. It just eats away at you. You aren't yourself anymore. But my heart has only grown. With every new experience, and with every new friend, our hearts have become one. My friends are my power!"

Riku's facade cracked. He grabbed the Keyblade, as if pulling it closer to him. In a flash of Light, it faded, and Nadine found herself holding her Keyblade again.  _Everyone_  was holding their Keyblade again, even Katie and Hanna, who had two. Yet Sora still had the sword. And Donald and Goofy's weapons resembled more what Nadine had seen only in a dream.

Riku's face contorted into an expression of rage. He held out his hand to summon a new weapon. He charged towards them, and stopped short.

And then Nadine realized just how  _terrible_  he looked. His breath came out in audibly ragged gasps. His eyes darted left and right erratically. His hands shook violently.

"What's happening...?" He gasped. "My heart...it's going to explode!"

His sword fell to the ground. Riku fell into Darkness.

Sora almost immediately dropped his battle stance and turned to them. "We have to go find him!"

"Are you crazy? He was going to kill us!" Nadine said.

_"Nadine!"_

Sora gave her a look. All the light and determination he had before, but now something else hid behind them. Fear.

Nadine fought back all better judgment. "Fine, but I'm not happy about it!"

* * *

"O Princesses of Heart! Reveal to me this world's Keyhole! Unlock the Powers of Darkness!"

Light, with a capital L, filled the chamber. The six hearts shimmered with light, as the door in front of her opened. She could see the Keyhole, and all the Darkness that flowed from it. But it hadn't unlocked. Why would that be? She had the Princesses, she had the power...

" **The path has emerged."**

Maleficent turned to face him, and tried to hide her shock. That blade...she knew that blade…

"I see. You've had your Heart destroyed by the Darkness. Good job." She turned her gaze back to the Keyhole of Darkness. "It does not matter. You were never meant to wield these powers. Only I may truly use the Darkness."

" **Such confidence."**

The Keyblade to People's Hearts pointed towards her.

" **We'll see about that."**

"For what strength you may have gained, you have lost your wisdom. I shall not hold back simply because you helped me."

" **That's exactly what I was hoping for."**

Maleficent smiled, and let herself transform.

* * *

"Riku, let me he—WOAH!"

Inside the next chamber was a cover of a metal album. Darkness filled the room, pouring from a doorway in the back of the room. Riku was there, and in a noticeably different outfit from before, but that wasn't the important part. The important part was the 10 foot fire breathing dragon. Through all the commotion, Katie could barely see someone else on the floor.

"Kairi!" Sora rushed towards the figure. She didn't react, even as Sora picked her up and rested her head in her lap. "Come on, Kairi! Open your eyes!"

Katie's gaze shifted between that and the fight above. "Should we come back later, or…?" Katie asked.

Riku's attention turned to them, and he smirked. He turned back to the battle for just a second, and his sword shot through the chest of the dragon.

" **Open your heart and surrender to darkness! Become the darkness itself!"**

The dragon roared in what sounded like pain and anger. Darkness engulfed it. When it faded, there was nothing.

"Evidently not." Katie said.

" **In the end, her heart was too weak to handle the Darkness."** Riku said. But that wasn't Riku's voice.

Sora noticed it too. "You're not Riku, are you?"

" **So you've noticed. I am Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness."**

"Ansem, as in the Ansem from the reports Ansem?" Nadine asked.

" **Of course. There is only one of me, after all."**

Sora's eyes drifted back and forth to Ansem and the glowing portal of Darkness."And what's that?"

" **That would be this world's Keyhole."**  Ansem said.  **"But it cannot be completed so long as one of the Princesses of Hearts sleeps."**

"But..." Sora trailed off as he looked back down to Kairi. "Are you saying that Kairi is a Princess?"

" **She is one of the Seven Princess of the Heart. Her heart is key to opening the Keyhole. But her heart resides in you."**  Ansem continued. " **If you want to seal it, you must use the Keyblade of People's Hearts to unlock your heart and return it to its owner. If not, you risk letting the Keyhole spiral out of control and destroying not only this world, but every world around it. Either way, the world will be consumed by Darkness."**

Sora looked at Ansem.

" _No,_ " Katie said. She tried to step forward, do something, but she collided into a wall of magic.

Sora looked to Kairi.

"No no  _no_ ," Hanna said.

Sora looked to the sword that Riku used, still laying on the floor from when it left the dragon.

"No no no no no no no-" Dani stopped as Sora's sword was tossed her way.

"Make sure Kairi gets out of here okay, alright?" Sora asked. "I'll leave the rest up to you."

The room became an indistinguishable chorus of  _no_ 's. Sora placed the Keyblade to his heart, and breathed.

Light, the kind with a capital L, exploded from Sora's chest and filled the room. Katie had to shield her eyes from the glare, but she could just make out the crystalline hearts—the kind released by Heartless, but never as bright and gold as these-, float and fly through the room. Once she could see properly, Katie summoned her Keyblade and clawed through the magic barrier. It didn't matter. She wasn't close enough to catch Sora when he fell. There wasn't even a body to catch when he fell. His body was consumed in a sea of golden Light.

And Kairi, awake for the first time that Katie had ever known her, watched it all with wide eyes.

" **Welcome back , Princess."** Ansem said.  **"The Keyhole is open, and your purpose fulfilled. Now, return to the Darkness."**

Ansem raised his hand, and hordes of Heartless appeared before him. Nadine rushed in front of Kairi and released a hail of magic bullets.

"Get Kairi, get the other Princesses, get the Beast and get to the ship!" Nadine said. "We'll think of another plan when we get there!"

"But-" Dani started.

"Dani, do you really want to sit around and weigh the pros and cons of this plan right now?  _Go_!" Nadine snapped.

"But what will happen to this world! What will happen to Sora!" Kairi asked.

Nadine didn't have an answer, so she released some more bullets.

Katie took one look at Nadine, to remind herself she could handle it, and took Kairi by the arm.

* * *

What's happening to me?

It feels familiar...falling into Darkness…

I've been here before, but why can't I remember it?

Kairi saved me before…

Here...

...and Riku saved me after that.

But when was that?

Who's going to save me now?

* * *

" **I'm surprised you had it in you to fight back. But you won't get your body back. Return to the Darkness."**

"Why the hell are you talking to that Heartless?" Nadine asked.

Ansem turned his attention back to her, and smiled widely.  **"My apologies. I assure you, I will not keep your death waiting."**

Ansem charged towards her, and in a blur of motion grabbed the Keyblade Sora had used (to kill himself) off the ground. There was no time for her to escape. She blocked the attack with her Keyblade, and pushed him off. Ansem jumped backwards.

When he landed, there was no mistaking he wasn't Riku anymore. He was much older, looking like a man in his thirties compared to 16 year-old Riku. His skin was dark; red in a sense that it resembled blood more than it did any human skin pigment. His hair was still white, but longer and better kept than Riku ever had it. Even his clothes had changed, but considering he was wearing two trench coats and still had his bare chest exposed, not for the better.

" **Good. I was beginning to tire of that body."**  Ansem said.  **"Consider yourself fortunate. You are one of the few who has seen me in my true form."**

"All I can see are your pectorals! Put some clothes on; it's drafty in here!"

" **Fine. You won't see me for long."**

Ansem took a step forward, and froze.

" _No! You won't use me to kill any of them!"_ She couldn't tell where it was coming from, but she knew that was Riku's voice.  _"Escape now while you can! I can't hold him off forever!"_

Light formed over Ansem. She couldn't quite make it out, but there was definitely something humanoid in there.  **"Meddlesome brat!"**  Ansem muttered.

" _Tell him I'm sorry!"_

The light was fading fast. Nadine had to move, and move quickly.

She never would have noticed the Heartless leaving before her.

* * *

The cell they put him in was not meant to keep him. Even the weakest Heartless could break out of it; slide through the floor, break the bars, do  _anything_. He could do all of that. He chose not to.

He settled for exploring it, climbing on the walls and ceiling to make sure he saw all of closely. Sometimes, he would sneak out and examine the rest of the room the cell was in, but there was never anything interesting in there. Devices he knew how to use and yet did not, papers he could read but forgot how. Memories of things that could not be with the way he was now. In its own way, that hurt more than the Darkness clawing at his Heart.

A figure moved through the natural lack of light in the room. A Heartless, Shadow to be exact. It crawled and sneaked through the room, but not in a way that a normal Shadow would. It headed towards the cell, and yellow eyes locked with yellow eyes.

And even with the Darkness, he remembered something. Light and hope and determination, and people he cared about.

The Shadow seemed to realize this as well, and gestured for him to follow it.

He slipped through the cell doors without hesitation.

* * *

"What's going to happen to this world?" Kairi asked.

"Let's not stand around and wait to find out!" Dani answered. "Donald, where's the ship?"

"It hasn't moved since we got here!" Donald said. "It's still outside the castle, by the platforms!"

"Oh  _great_!"

"I don't want to leave without them!" Kairi said.

"I…" Dani stopped. "I know."

The world was ending around her, but dammit, she needed time to  _think._ They had to find the other Princesses and the Beast. They couldn't leave without Sora, Riku, or Dim. There was no way she could make those two work, and even if she did, she did not have time to think of it.

"I don't know what else to do." Dani admitted. "I should have done something. I  _could_  have done something! But…I don't know what I can do now."

Hanna took a few steps forward, probably to try and comfort her. But that's when Dani saw... _something_. It was human, certainly, but was covered head to toe in a black cloak. She could not even make out a face on the figure. But however human he was, there was something about him, and Dani couldn't figure out what it was, that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and her heart beat faster. The same kind of responses whenever she saw a Heartless.

The figure noticed her, and everyone else noticed it. It walked towards her, footsteps sounding more like static. It walked towards her—

_Sora?_

_Give me a break Kai—_

_This world has been connected. Tied to the Darkness._

_Giving up already?_

_Sora, don't ever change._

_The Door has opened._

_So…ra…_

_You understand_ nothing _._

_Donald Duck!_

_Name's Goofy!_

_My name's Sora. I'll go with you guys._

_My friends are my power!_

It walked through her.

Dani stumbled as the figure drew past, the only reason she didn't fall was because of Hanna catching her. Her head snapped backwards to the figure, who had paused. Her mouth hung open and noises came out of her mouth, but they were not nearly as coherent as she needed them to be.

_Ah, it seems you are special, too._

The voice was not said out loud nor in her head but it was there. Existing.

"Who are you?" Dani managed to gasp out.

_In this reality, I am what's left. Or, maybe, I was all there ever was._

The figure turned to her.

_This world is only an illusion, bound to the Darkness. The things that have happened here have happened before. I have seen it all before, but I have not seen_ you _._

"Well now you're just being silly." Katie said.

"He sounds a bit like Ansem..." Kairi pointed out.

_The name rings familiar._

"Are you trying to say you're Ansem too?" Hanna asked.

_I was called that once, but no longer. You will find that there are many of us who try to take on the mantle of the Wise, as well as those who try to break away from it._

The floor shook under them, reminding Dani of their current situation. "Listen, unless you're the Ansem that Riku was, we want no part in what you're selling. Now let's try to leave before the world explodes, yeah?"

A bolt of magic that looked like but was not quite a Thunder spell was sent Dani's was in response. She summoned her Keyblade to block it. But it didn't stop. She buried her feet into the ground and swung her Keyblade back, redirecting the spell only just.

The person that was not quite Ansem seemed surprised at that.

_I came to visit Him. But perhaps you are the Key to ending the Dream._

The figure held out their hand. Lightning and energy crackled about it, and forged into a blade that ebbed with energy that was not quite Light or Dark.

_Allow me to test your strength._

"Is now really the time-"

The figure charged.

"Apparently it is!"

Dani blocked one blade heading towards her, but not the other. She was knocked backwards. Hanna stepped in between them, an even duel even before Katie stepped in with her two Keyblades. Dani got back to her feet, and ducked as two spells soared overhead towards the foe.

Nadine skated up to them. "I thought I told you to try and escape."

"We are!" Dani said.

"Then who is he?"

"We don't know!"

"Then why are you fighting him?"

"He started it!"

Nadine buried her face in her free hand. "And where is Kairi?"

Dani glanced behind her. She was gone.

"That one's not my fault!"

* * *

"Confounded Heartless! Get lost, will ya?"

"Sora?"

She lowered down to eye level with the smaller Heartless. It stared at her, yellow eyes blank. Heartless, for the most part, looked alike to each other, but this one…this one looked familiar. No.  _Felt_  familiar, in her Heart.

"Is that really you, Sora?" She tried again.

"Kairi, you stay away from that thing!" Donald snapped again.

Yet nobody moved. The one that wasn't quite a Heartless skittered across the ceiling, but nobody acknowledged it.

"Please, Sora…we miss you.  _I_  miss you." Her eyes blurred, and she tried to ignore it. She crouched down to eye level with the Heartless. "Please come back."

Light, the kind with a capitol L, filled her vision, and she realized that the thing that was holding her was a lot bigger and a lot more comforting than a Heartless.

* * *

Dani rolled out of the way of the figure's light swords and jumped to her feet. She grabbed her Keyblade and lunged. The blade ran towards him—

_Hypocrite. You are the one who has made your heart a prison._

_All for one and one for all!_

_I must warn you again—the road will not be easy._

_A heart is never lost for good._

_You know, I was gonna come swooping in, Keyblade in hand, but I just couldn't get mine to materialize. Must be in the snap of the wrist or something._

_This wakeless sleep will be your prison…to wander forever._

_Fine. Let's jump right in._

It ran through him.

Nobody had moved for a minute. Eventually, the man straightened out, as if being sliced through had caused some minor discomfort.

_Impressive. This will be enjoyable._

"What are you talking about?" Dani snapped.

_It is beyond your comprehension for now. But we will meet again._

"Well, why don't you cut the crap and tell us who you are?" Hanna snapped.

The man had no face, but Dani could tell it would be smirking if he did.

_I_

_am_

_nothing_

_but_

_a_

_mere_

_shell._

And just like that, the figure was gone. No sound or fury, no portals into Darkness or portals into Light. If Dani had blinked, she would have missed that.

"Is he gone?" Nadine asked.

"Or  _was he never there to begin with_?" Katie said ominously.

She was answered by a part of the ceiling collapsing in next to her.

"Whatever. We'll deal with that later. Right now, let's get to the ship!" Nadine said.

"Miss Kaitlyn? Miss Nadine?"

She recognized that received pronunciation. Dani's head snapped up.

Alice, the same Alice in Wonderland, rushed towards her. A group of women followed her, and following them was a very confused-looking Beast.

"Oh, these are the people who helped me before that I told you about!" Alice said to the other women. "Though, where are that boy and those animals you traveled with?"

Dani winced. That was—

"I'm right here!"

She recognized that pre-pubescent voice as well. All heads turned.

"And I'm not going anywhere anymore." Sora said.


	12. And I Feel Fine

The Gummi Ship, already as small as it was, had never been this crowded before. Most everyone had to take up standing room in the space between the driver's seat and the passenger's seat that served for storage and kitchen space. Those that managed to secure seats usually had another person on their lap or at their feet. Space had been made by the fact that the Heartless that was Dim was more than comfortable clawing his way onto the ceiling. Space had been lost because of the Beast.

Of course, nobody really cared about the size of the ship at the moment. There was too much going on that they had to care about. The joy that Sora was back to life. The adrenaline of escaping the ending planet. The end of the planet.

Hanna had found some TS Eliot to read in her English textbook, but that didn't seem to do much good. Katie had tried to play Taps by literally tapping on the English text book, but that seemed to do less.

"Where do we go now?" Sora asked.

For just a moment, Donald looked as lost as he sounded and she felt. "I suppose…we should head back to Traverse Town. At the very least, we need to drop these ladies off somewhere safe."

"And after everything we've been through, why should I leave Sora?" Kairi asked.

"We still need to fight Ansem, and restore all the worlds." Sora said. "It's not safe for you out there."

"Besides," Dani spoke up. "Maybe it'll help if we talk to Squall. He might know something about that guy who called himself Ansem."

* * *

"I literally have no idea what's going on anymore." Leon said.

"We had always thought that Ansem passed away with our world." Aerith said. "I had hoped that was the case. Ansem's heart and body was eaten by the Heartless a long time ago."

"Not that it matters. That place hasn't been Radiant Gardens for a long time." Leon sighed. His eyes looked upwards, not wanting to meet anyone else's. "Why is it that you four have singlehandedly disproved everything we have ever known for sure?"

"It's not our fault." Katie shrugged. "None of  _us_  are pretending to be Ansem. By the way, apparently only Sora has the Keyblade and we're just borrowing it."

Leon looked like he was about to have a conniption.

Yuffie jumped in. "So what do we do now? Hollow Bastion was supposed to be the last Keyhole you had to seal to save the universe."

"Well, there are other worlds, right?" Nadine asked. "The Princesses all came from somewhere. Maybe one of those worlds has the answer."

Leon shook his head. "They aren't connected to the other worlds the way Hollow Bastion was. Besides, you're assuming they haven't fallen into Darkness as well."

"What made Hollow Bastion so special?" Hanna asked.

"How do you think it was destroyed in the first place?" Leon looked like he didn't want to answer. "That Keyhole…Ansem tinkered with it. He wanted to link every world together, create a bridge that could connect the whole universe. It was practically gift-wrapped for the Heartless."

"Is that a particularly bad thing?" Alice asked from the sidelines.

Aerith started to explain, but all of a sudden, Katie didn't care anymore. There it was. That was so obvious. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

"We are all idiots." She breathed.

Everyone turned to her.

"Sorry, but think about it! This entire trip, the entire time, we've been complaining about one thing. Alice, where are you from?"

"W—Westminster, but—"

"And we don't know where the Darling family lived, but it wasn't Neverland and they have the same accent!" Katie continued. "Olympus Coliseum was Greece. The Deep Jungle was an unspecified African rainforest. Agrabah was fantasy-land Persia; Genie  _said_  as much! All of these things were familiar to us, as citizens of Earth, but not to Sora, a citizen of Destiny Islands, or to Donald and Goofy, citizens of Disney Castle. And if Hollow Bastion really was the Keyhole that connected every world to itself, how were we able to get back here once it went kabloowey?"

"It did  _what_?" Leon snapped.

"Nevermind that, I'm being a genius right now! It's not Hollow Bastion we're looking for.  _It's Earth."_ Katie said. "A bridge between the worlds."

"Assuming we believe that, how do we get there anyway?" Nadine asked. "It was destroyed with the Heartless just like Hollow Bastion."

"We're gonna need a telescope."

* * *

"Do you ever think it'll be the same between us?" Kairi asked. "I mean, Riku's lost his—"

Without turning to her, Sora put his hand on hers. He didn't look at her, trying too hard to think of what to say. "You helped me find my Heart. I was so lost in the Darkness. But I knew that you would come to help me."

"I didn't want to just forget about you, Sora." Kairi said, almost defensively.

He interlocked his fingers into hers. "Our Hearts are connected. Yours, mine…Riku. We'll bring him back. I promise."

Kairi's grip loosened. Sora, afraid he did something wrong, let go completely and turned to her. He barely had time to spit out an apology before he felt something forced into his hand. Thalassa charms, bound together to look like a star. A smiley face and a crude approximation of his hair had been carved on the top shell.

"That's my lucky charm." Kairi said. "Be sure to bring it back to me, okay?"

"Promise."

Sora turned back ahead. Ahead was something that wasn't there before. A figure cloaked entirely in black. Exactly like Dani had said the other Ansem had been.

Sora jumped to his feet and summoned his Keyblade. The figure lazily looked over towards him. It stared, as much as a being without a face can. Finally, it moved to lower its hood.

_You make a good other._

Then the figure was gone, leaving nothing but raw sewage in its wake.

* * *

There were two telescopes in Traverse Town. One was Gepetto's, a basic thing that was really only able to see that other worlds existed. The other was more in line to the needs of Traverse Town. Designed by the great Ludwig von Drake, its image could reach planets as far back as Hollow Bastion. It could give perfect vision to the surfaces of other worlds. If it were able to move about and weren't mounted to the rooftop of Huey, Dewey and Louie's shop, then it might as effective as the Hubble.

It could find Earth, no problem.

"That's your world?" Leon asked. "That's a world for  _whales_."

"Actually, whales freely roam through the depths of space." Katie said. "But we did have whales once."

Earth was surprisingly intact considering the last time they had seen it, it was exploding. However, it was clear to see the glue that held the world together. The streaks of white clouds were now Dark. Oceans churned. Orbs of Darkness sat on the landmasses, occasionally letting out a ripple of energy.

Leon pulled away from the telescope. He didn't notice the red circle that lined his eye now, or Huey, Dewey, and Louie's laughter. "Where do you even start to search on a planet that  _big_?"

"That one's easy." Katie said. "Home."

"Why home?"

"Because when our world was destroyed, we were attacked by a big scary Heartless. Why would that Heartless be in some nowhere's-ville resort town if it didn't have something it wanted?"

"I hate to say it, but you have a point." Nadine said. She leaned into the telescope herself and focused on where her hometown would be. The town was…fine. The buildings were intact and no mass pandemonium hadn't taken over the streets. Actually, the streets were empty. That's what made Nadine nervous.

Out of curiosity, she focused the view to Italy. The telescope panned through Darkness for a while, before finally settling on a coliseum where a blonde superhero was talking to a short minotaur. She panned over again.

"They're all there. Why are they  _there_?" Nadine asked aloud. "It looks like Agrabah and England are dealing with some big scary Heartless, but they're  _there_."

"The worlds have been connected." Cloud said. "And tied to the Darkness. Your Earth is now holding every world it can in place."

"Maybe once we defeat Ansem, the Heartless will go away." Sora said.

"We will lend you our strength." One of the Princesses, Aurora, she thinks, spoke up.

"Save it for yourselves. You might need it considering how things might go." Hanna said. "Maybe you could do something about my brother."

"You better." Cid scoffed. "He's been playing with my Gummis like they're tinker-toys. I'd complain more, but he's the best assistant I've ever had."

"Then let's head off!" Sora said. "The sooner we get all of this fixed, the sooner we can all celebrate together."

And all of a sudden, the rooftop fell silent. The members of Traverse Town looked at each other, trying to search for the person with the best people skills.

"The worlds were never meant to be connected." Aerith spoke up. "Once you seal the Final Keyhole, and restore all the worlds, they will become separate again."

"Even the Gummi Ship won't do the trick." Leon said.

The group fell silent for a minute. Leon seemed to think to himself for a minute, before walking over and putting a hand on Sora's shoulder. It was a grossly kind action, and it looked like it pained him a lot to even do that, but he continued.

"We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other. Our Hearts will always be connected, even when we're apart."

That one, surprisingly, was sincerely kind.

It was ruined slightly as Cid started to cry. "You damn kids are startin' to grow up!"

* * *

"—ck?"

Light enveloped the room, and where the Heartless was Dmitri now stood.

He was very confused.

"What?"

One of the women tried to approach him, but Dim couldn't care right now. His mind reeled with his last memories. Dani and Hanna, and Riku…what happened? Where were his sisters?

He hadn't realized he said that aloud until one of the younger girls spoke up. "I'm sorry, but they already left."

"Where to? Take me to them!"

The woman in front of him, a brunette woman with a yellow ballgown, made a face. "I'm sorry, but it's far too dangerous—"

"Then give me a ship and I'll find them myself!"

"Like hell you will!" A new voice, obviously male and gritted, spoke up. "MOG! HIDE THE SHIPS THE KID MADE!"

"Kupo!"

Dim sighed and tried to clear his head. Panicking was going to get him nowhere. "You don't understand. I have to help them."

He would do it for his sisters.

* * *

Earth was, surprisingly, exactly the way they had left it. Yet there was stillness in the air. No cars roamed the streets, no people played outside, and no signs of activity could be seen through the windows to buildings. Aside from the seven of them, the town was empty. Earth was empty.

That worried Dani a lot more than what happened next.

Before anyone could think to ask what was going on, the ground shook violently under them. In seconds, the peaceful town was under fire. Dani felt herself fall, and fall even further into the Earth.

Sora caught her by the hand. He hovered above her, pixie dust flaking off of him. "Got any happy thoughts left in you?"

Christmas, Dani decided. Think Christmas.

Sora pulled, and she flew.

Once she got her bearings, she looked towards the source. The town crumbled. The mountains parted. And in her way, there was this… _thing_. Two enormous wings unfolded, and revealed the beast underneath. Two golden eyes lit up and focused on her, and it smiled.

"Okay, so I think that's the devil—" Dani started.

The beast known as Chernabog attacked.

* * *

No one in Traverse Town really knew what to do next. The next few moments would decide the future: either return it to Light, or damn it to Darkness. The more common citizens returned to their homes. The Princesses continued to pray within Cid's shop. The others stayed on top of the ducks' shop, and watched.

Cloud resumed his brooding. He had never gotten a chance to see Traverse Town for very long. It had always passed in a blur of emotions. Grief. Defeat. Fear. Guilt. Rage. Foolhardiness. A sense of determination that he could change things that was clouded by the hindsight that he just made it worse.

Mostly rage.

But that did not make it a bad town. And now perhaps because the possibility that his old one could be returned, he decided to see it for the first time. It was a pleasant world. They had probably had to work to keep it that way, but the work shone through. Aerith would like it here.

Tifa would like it here too.

Somebody joined him. He was prepared to glare them away, but stopped as he saw who it was.

"It's peaceful out here, isn't it?" Aerith asked lazily.

His wing twitched. He gave a noncommittal grunt. Aerith sat down next to him, and he panicked.

"We've all missed you." She said. "We thought you had passed away along with Radiant Gardens."

Oh whatever god or lifeforce decided to take him, this was not the conversation he wanted to have oh no no no

He shrugged. "Got a bit lost along the way."

"Oh?"

She fortunately decided not to press any further. That was the one saving grace in this entire conversation.

"I wonder if anyone else was able to make it." She thought aloud.

Cloud didn't answer. Did she know? Aerith always had a way of knowing things nobody told her. If she knew, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"Miss Katie said that when they found you, you were looking for something. Have you found it yet?"

Cloud hesitated. "I don't want you involved."

"You don't want our help?"

Memories of what could have been flashed before his eyes. "I don't want you  _hurt_."

"I'm stronger than you think."

"I know. And that's why I don't want you hurt."

Silence fell over them. Just faintly, he could hear the sounds of crashing from within the building. Considering it was run by ducklings, he didn't pay it too much mind.

"Alright. I'll trust you. But make sure to come back to us, alright?"

_And Cloud, take care of yourself. So you don't have a breakdown, okay?_

He had seen her die too many times, in worlds that were real and worlds that weren't.

"Yeah."

Something caught his attention on the town below. The boy, the one the others had been so worried about. He scrambled out of the shop and into a Corridor of Darkness. Cloud jumped to his feet, prepared to do something, but it happened too  _fast_. He was gone before Cloud could even turn around.

"Where did he go?" Aerith asked. That was good, at least; she had never seen a Corridor of Darkness.

"At this rate, he could be anywhere." Cloud turned his gaze to the stars above. "Let's hope those kids fix this before he gets too far."

* * *

"I thought only the light of God could destroy the Devil." Hanna said.

"Hanna, have we ever stepped  _foot_  in a church?" Dani asked.

Neither of them really noticed Sora approach the portal that stood in Chernabog's place.

"Sora?" Goofy asked.

"I know this place…" Sora said. He put one foot inside.

"What are you doing?" Dani asked. "You don't know where that place leads!"

"Yes I do!" Sora said. "Just trust me, alright?"

Hanna didn't exactly have a choice. She jumped in quickly after him.

This was not Earth. It looked a lot like Earth, or at least what Earth had become. Yet the skies were purple, not blue, and clouds hovered around like they were trying to block something. The ocean beside them stayed still. No sun hovered above, even though it looked to be in the middle of the day. There was no breeze to feel, nor salt water or sand to smell, and she really didn't want to try tasting anything here. Only what she could see, and hear.

"This is my home!" Sora said. "This is Destiny Islands!"

"…kinda a dump." Nadine said.

"Hey, I don't make fun of you for your homeworld, so—"

" **Look at this tiny place."**

They turned to the source. Ansem stood by the water, looking positively bored.

" **To a Heart seeking freedom, this is nothing but a prison. No wonder the boy decided to embrace the Darkness within."**

"You give Riku back!" Sora said.

Ansem glanced over his shoulder just to give them a condescending look. What a jerk.  **"Even if I desired to, it's no use. His Heart has returned to Darkness, as will all Hearts in the end.**   **That is the nature of the universe you decide to explore. That is the Heart'z true essence."**

"That's not true!" Sora said. "Yes, the Heart may be weak. And sometimes, it may even give in. But I know that there's a Light that never goes out!"

" **You still understand so little."**

The ground shattered under them. It was actually an improvement, considering they were walking on sand.

" **EVERY LIGHT MUST FADE! EVERY HEART RETURN TO DARKNESS!"**

The rest of Destiny Islands shattered. In its place…

Darkness.

* * *

Darkness.

Darkness as far as the eye couldn't see. No thing to interact with. No path he could travel. No person he could talk to.

At first, Riku thought he was in some kind of afterlife. He then decided that if he were, he wasn't there for a good reason.

He wanted to apologize. Take everything back. Start all over. Even if he could, there was no way to escape this abyss. For the first time in a long time, Riku was actually alone.

And just as he realized it, he wasn't alone anymore.

"Riku!"

Dmitri? Save for light signs of exhaustion, he looked the same as the last time Riku had seen him…whole again. Still, he wanted to make sure…

"Hey! Cut that out!" Dmitri swatted his hand away from his face.

"Why are you here?" Riku asked. "You were never a real Heartless, you should've been fine!"

"I wanted to find you." Dmitri said.

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend, and you're hurting right now, and I don't think you should be left alone."

"I don't have a Heart anymore! Or a body, for that matter! There's no way I'm going to just escape with you!"

The revelation hit Riku. He struggled to maintain composure.

"You're better off just forgetting about me." He finished.

Dmitri was silent for a minute. Riku thought he had given up until he felt the weight of Dmitri's hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not going to leave my friend behind." He said. His eyes sparked with light and hope and determination.

_Riku? Can you hear me?_

"That is the silliest disembodied voice I've ever heard." Dmitri muttered to himself.

"Who are you?" Riku asked instead. " _Where_  are you?"

_You were right when you said you lost your body. But you recovered your Heart. Because of that, it became trapped on this side of the Darkness._

_But this isn't quite as bad as it sounds! Two Hearts were always needed to close the Door, on both sides._

_Two Hearts, and Two Keyblades._

_Maybe you were destined to come here, just like me._

* * *

The world was ending.

_Every_  world was ending.

The Darkness grew. Yet Light still shined in Dani's Heart. They could still fight.

_Oh, this is going to get so_ metaphysical _!_  Dani thought as she summoned her Keyblade.

The real fight began.

From the Darkness, Ansem conjured Heartless. Legions of Shadows, Soldiers, Large Bodies, and a bunch of other funny names she didn't quite remember to protect him with, and a larger one that hovered around him. The smaller ones were sliced through by Goofy's shield and Donald's magic. Bits of earth of worlds that were formed around them, making a path Dani could run on. She dashed along the platforms, and whatever Heartless she didn't slice through was taken care of by Hanna.

Katie and Nadine made quick work of the familiar Heartless. Dani's Keyblade slashed through him.

Ansem shifted again. He grew, to the size of worlds themselves (though most worlds were still rather tiny). Darkness engulfed him, in crude caricatures of muscles and body structure. The still human figure stood on the body, nearly consumed by his structure.

"Gross." Nadine said.

"Can we shapeshift with the powers of Darkness too?" Katie asked.

"Let's figure that out later!" Dani said as comets were fired towards them.

She flew through the comets, through the Darkness, through everything Ansem had to throw at her. When she landed, she landed on the writhing mass of visceral. She wasn't going to stay there for very long. She launched towards Ansem, Keyblade at the ready.

He was a better swordsman than her, probably due to having actual training. Yet he could not stop three Keyblades. Or four. Or more.

"You're wrong." Sora said. "I know now, without a doubt, Kingdom Hearts is light!"

And the world turned to Light.

Ansem could not stand the Light. He  _burned_. His body, both real and constructed, his Heartless, his Heart. In an instant, there was nothing left.

Except a door.

There was ground underneath them now so Dani allowed herself to stop flying and drop. In that time, she saw what lied on the other side of the door.

Darkness. More Darkness then there was now. And if it stayed open any longer—

Nobody wasted any time. They rushed towards it, and pushed. Even with all of the power of their teamwork, the Doors were massive. Not even Hercules could have closed these easily.

"This thing's gonna have to be locked from the inside!" Nadine shouted. "Any ideas?"

"If we can get it closed, I'll let you in on something!" Dani shouted back.

"Don't give up!"

That was Riku's voice. Something moved on the other side of the door.

Something tugged on the door Dani was pushing, and she could catch just a fragment of brown hair.

"We'll close it together!" Dim's voice.

"Don't worry! There will always be another door to the light! Now let's close this one for good!"

Not a voice Dani recognized. But judging by Donald and Goofy's expression, they did.

"Your Majesty!"

"That's your King?" Dani tried to poke her head in what remained of the open doors, but thought better of it. She could see a small figure, silhouetted in the Darkness, and gold Keyblade.

The three tugged at the opposite end of the door, and the seven resumed their pushing.

"Take care of her."

The doors latched.

Sora jumped away from the group to pull out his Keyblade. The tip ignited in light and magic. A clicking sound echoed through the void as the Keyhole was sealed, then another as the one on the other-side followed. The Door faded.

And then there was nothing.

The adrenaline faded rather quickly when Dani realized there was nothing but they were still there. She glanced around in search of a path or something they could follow.

"Oh hey Sora your girlfriend's here." Nadine said nonchalantly.

"What!"

That seemed to startle Sora more than anything that had happened. He ran to her, jumping across the bits of world that remained and were reforming themselves.

"Kairi!"

"Sora!"

The ocean of Destiny Islands formed around Kairi's feet and the ground shook. Sora grabbed her arm before she could fall all the way down.

"Remember what you said to me! I'll always be with you too!" Sora said.

The worlds were repairing themselves. Destiny Islands was whole again, yet that was not where Sora was going. Sora's grip on her arm loosened down to her hand as the worlds drifted apart.

"I'll come back to you! I promise!"

Fingers clasped onto fingers. Kairi's feet dug into the ground, desperate to hold on.

"I know you will!"

They let go.

For a while, Dani watched the stars form in the sky. She watched life be replaced on the other worlds as they flew past her, palm trees spring into life and people resume their ordinary lives unimpeded by the end of all things. She watched as they drifted away from her, into the unknown.

She didn't know what happened after that.

* * *

"So…where are we?"

"Who knows?" Donald grumbled. "Probably some backwater planet that won't have a town for miles!"

That looked to be the case, although Sora probably would have phrased it differently. They had walked the path for some time, and Sora no longer realized if they had walked that path as soon as the worlds had been restored or if he just woke up there. He no longer knew what happened to the other members of his group.

"Where do you think Riku and the King are?" Sora asked.

"Well, they're probably still on the other side of that door." Goofy said.

"But what about Dani and the others?"

Nobody quite had an answer for him. He sighed.

"We'll just have to keep looking, then." He said.

"Where do you suppose we'll find them?" Donald asked.

The road had changed from Darkness to the absence of anything to rock and earth to dirt and grass. Yet up until now, there wasn't anything on it except for the three of them. Now, a yellow dog crossed the road.

"Pluto?" Donald asked.

"Hey, Pluto, where've you been?" Goofy asked.

The dog froze, and turned to them. Something had been put into his mouth, but Sora could't quite make it out. It looked like an envelope, sealed with a figure of three circles. The same figure on the back of his Keyblade, and Dani and Hanna's for that matter. And it kinda looked like the King's head…

"That's the King's seal!" Donald exclaimed.

"Hey, have you seen King Mickey?" Sora asked.

Pluto turned and ran.

Sora started after him. "Guys, let's go!"

They ran towards their next adventure.

* * *

Dani woke up, and had no idea where she was.

That was becoming very common, recently, and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

Forest surrounded her. Damp earth, thick trees, cool grass, yet nothing that she could identify for sure. Actually, it really looked like—

She stopped as she realized the cutest thing she had ever seen in her life sat in front of her. It looked like a fox, yet it was small enough to be a housecat. Its ear were nearly as big as it was, and from its head, a small horn protruded.

It dropped whatever was in its mouth, and Dani was surprised to hear it land to the ground with a thud. Hesitantly, she reached out for it. It vibrated in her hand. An icon told her she had one unread message.

CARBUNCLE: Hello? Can you read this?

CARBUNCLE: In front of you!

Dani's gaze lowered to the fox.

CARBUNCLE: This is the land of your Dreams.

_The story will continue in…_

_Flights of Fantasy: An Original Character's Story_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note [EDITED]: And we are done! This is it! If you have read all the way to the end, thank you so much. I am very proud of this project and I am so glad that it is out there now. Flights of Fantasy will start at the end of the summer.
> 
> Yes this is the end. Totally.


	13. Chapter 13

Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind Mary. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there is really another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that perhaps there isn't. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom, and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie the Pooh.

Sometimes Winnie the Pooh likes a game of some sort when he comes downstairs, and sometimes he likes to sit quietly and listen to a story. This evening—

"What about an adventure?" said Mary.

"What about an adventure?" I said.

"I want to go on an adventure with Winnie the Pooh," said Mary. "A fun kind of one, where I can be the hero!"

Mary was young now, and her adventures were always easy to create. An adventure could be a trip to the moon and back or a voyage under the sea. Heroes never did more than explore and perhaps help other people. I always tried to find a world where she could help other people, but it was rare when she ever took the lesson to heart.

"I suppose I could," said I. "What kind of world would you like today?"

"I want to visit where Winnie the Pooh lives," said Mary.

"And what kind of adventures does Winnie the Pooh like?" said I.

"He likes stories about himself. Because he's that sort of bear."

"Oh, I see."

"So could you very sweetly send me to the Hundred Acre Wood world?"

"I shall try."

So I tried.

* * *

Once upon a time a long time ago, quite a bit longer now but at the time it was only last Friday, Winnie the Pooh lived all by himself in the Hundred Acre Woods. One day, when he was out walking in the middle of these woods, he came across a very large oak tree, and from the top was a loud buzzing noise.

Winnie the Pooh sat at the foot of the tree, and began to think. He said to himself "That is not a buzzing noise you hear every day. The only reason I would think you would make a buzzing noise would be because you are a bee. So there must be bees at the top of this tree. And the only reason to be a bee is to make honey."

He stood up. "The only reason to make honey, is for me to eat it."

So he began to climb the tree. He climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed, and he climbed and he sang a little song to himself. Then he climbed some more, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed and sang another song to himself. Then he climbed a little more…and climbed a little more…and he was beginning to grow tired so he switched his song to a Complaining Song. He was nearly and if he just made it onto that branch…

CRACK!

He fell into the gorse-bush, and the first person he thought of was Mary. So he went round to his friend Mary, who lived behind a green door in another part of the forest.

"Good morning, Mary," he said.

"Good morning, Winnie-ther-Pooh," she said.

"I was just wondering if you had anything such as a balloon on you?"

_("A balloon?" said Mary at the time this was being told._

" _What else do you suggest would work?" I asked._

" _A broom," She said, for she did not realize the difference between the brooms of plastic and fiber bought in supermarkets and brooms of wood and magic bought by witches. "We can fly up there."_

_It was important to teach Mary to be resourceful. It was always easier to use the world to her advantage, rather than bring in all of her supplies and damage it. Long after she stopped relying on me to tell her stories, she needed to be resourceful._

" _Then we shall use a broom," said I, and continued.)_

"A broom," said Mary. "We can fly up there."

"That is a grand idea," said Pooh "But how do you suppose we fool the bees?"

"Do you think we can fool the bees?" Mary asked.

"I'm not sure. It is hard to tell with bees," said Pooh. "But I would rather the bees think that I am a part of the sky, or a part of the trees, so they do not try to sting me."

Well, they both went out with the broom, and you took your staff with you, just in case, as you always do, and Winnie-the-Pooh went to a very muddy place, and rolled and rolled until he was black all over. And then they both hopped onto the broom and rose into the sky and stayed there.

"Hooray!" she shouted.

"Isn't this fine!" shouted he. "What do I look like?"

"You look like a Bear on a broom," Mary said.

"Not," said Pooh, "—not like a small black cloud in a blue sky?"

"Not very much."

"Ah, well, you can never tell with bees."

After a little while Pooh spoke again.

"I think the bees suspect something!"

"What sort of thing?"

"I don't know. But something tells me that they're suspicious!"

"Perhaps they think that you're after their honey."

"It may be that. You can never tell with bees."

There was another little pause before Pooh thought up of a cloud song to fool the bees with. The bees were still buzzing as suspiciously as ever. Some of them, indeed, left their nest and flew all round the cloud as he began the second verse of this song, and one bee sat down on the nose of the cloud and then got back up again.

"Mary-ow," said the cloud.

"Yes?"

"I have just been thinking, and I have come to the conclusion that these are the wrong sort of bees."

"Are they?"

"Yes. And it stands to reason that they would be making the wrong sort of honey."

"Would they?"

"Yes. So I think we shall go down."

So Mary landed. It was a rough kind of landing because it was a rough kind of flying, and for weeks afterwards they were sore and still felt the wind on their backs.

And I think—but I am not sure—that  _that_  is why he was always called Pooh.

"Is that the end of the story?" asked Mary.

"That's the end of that one. There are others."

"About Pooh and me?"

"And Piglet and Rabbit and all of you. You may return to that world whenever you wish."

Mary gave a deep sigh, picked her Bear up by the leg, and walked off to the door, trailing Pooh behind him. And in a moment I heard Winnie-the-Pooh- _bump, bump, bump_ —going up the stairs behind her.

* * *

And there were other stories. There were other worlds that Mary visited and other people that she helped.

But there was one day when she stopped. She was still young then, and perhaps she was beginning to realize the consequences of her actions. But she was growing older, and life has a way of taking over your childhood when you least expect it. Her days became full of schoolwork and business, and there was little time for rolling in the mud and flying.

Then there was a day when she left for another world and did not return for a very long time.

She never did find whatever she was looking for that time. She went through so many worlds and so many outcomes that I do not think she truly knows where she is anymore, or where she belongs. I wish there was more I could do to help her. The world can be a cruel place, no matter which world you end up in. But there is so much light and hope and determination. There are so many small joys that make life bearable. There are so many adventures that can still be had, if you are able to find them.

When she decided to settle in one world she was older, if not by physical age. She was an Adult now. She took the things that mattered to her, Edward Bear and myself included, and left on her own great adventure.

I hope she's happy, wherever she goes.

**Author's Note:**

> Original Author's Note [slightly edited]: Well I didn't expect I'd end up here. I have been working on this series and these characters for literally years; since about 2006. I wrote this as just a part of a larger franchise-like series. I started this installment last year. However, everything just clicked with this particular installment. Everything!...though this chapter was probably the weakest. Still, I am very excited about this, not only this story but for what else I'll be doing with these characters. Welcome to Simple/Clean, and welcome to the Original Character's Series.


End file.
